Alleviation of cadmium-induced genotoxicity and cytotoxicity by calcium chloride in faba bean (Vicia faba L. var. minor) roots

Abstract

Alleviation of cadmium-induced root genotoxicity and cytotoxicity by calcium chloride (CaCl 2 ) in faba bean (Vicia faba L. var. minor) seedlings were studied. Faba bean seeds were treated with H 2 O or 2% CaCl 2 for 6 h before germination. Seeds were then exposed to 0 and 50 lM CdCl 2 concentrations for 7 days. Genotoxic damaging effects of Cd was examined through the determination of the mitotic index (MI), chromosomal aberrations (CA) and micronucleus (MN) in the meristem cells of faba bean roots. Similarly, effects of Cd stress on metal accumulation, total membrane lipid contents, total fatty acid composition (TFA), lipid peroxidation as indicated by malondialdehyde production, soluble protein and nonprotein thiols (NP-SH) contents, hydrogen peroxide production and the activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT) and guaiacol peroxidase (GPX) were evaluated after 7 days of Cd stress in the seedling roots. Cd stress resulted in the reduction of MI, in addition to MN formation and CA induction in the roots of non-primed seeds (treated with H 2 O). Moreover, Cd induced lipid peroxidation, H 2 O 2 overproduction and loss of membrane lipid amount and soluble protein content, and changes in the TFA composition in roots of faba bean seedlings. SOD activity declined, but CAT and GPX activities increased. However, seed pre-treatment with CaCl 2 attenuated the genotoxic and cytotoxic effects of Cd on Vicia faba roots. The results showed that CaCl 2 induced reduction of Cd accumulation, improved cell membrane stability and increased the antioxidant defence systems, thus reducing and alleviating Cd genotoxicity and oxidative damage.

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Exogenous Oxalic Acid Protects Germinating Chickpea Seeds Against Cadmium Injury

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Plant growth regulators improve growth, photosynthesis, mineral nutrient and antioxidant system under cadmium stress in menthol mint (Mentha arvensis L.)

“…Heavy metal (HM) contamination of agricultural lands is becoming a significant threat to the sustainability of agroecosystems (Ashraf et al 2017;Wang et al 2017;Wani et al 2018;Ali et al 2018;Vardhan et al 2019;Zaid et al 2019b). Cadmium (Cd), one of the HMs, is a non-essential element, very toxic to plants (Wang et al 2018;Nouairi et al 2019;Rizwan et al 2019;Zaid et al 2019b). Nearly 20 million hectares of cultivable land worldwide are known to be contaminated by Cd (Liu et al 2015;Dong et al 2017).…”