Changes in Antioxidant Enzyme Activities of European Mistletoe (Viscum album L. subsp. Album) Leaves as a Response to Environmental Stress Caused by Pollution of the Atmosphere by Nitrogen Dioxide

Abstract

In the present study we investigated the seasonal pattern of activity of antioxidant enzymes such as superoxide dismutase (SOD) catalase (CAT) ascorbate peroxidase (APX), guaiacol peroxidase (POD) and syringaldazine peroxidase (SPOD) as well as the total protein concentration in the European mistletoe (Viscum album L. subsp. album). We studied mistletoe leaves that grew on the selected tree species in different parts the city of Lodz, exposed to a greater or lesser extent to the nitrogen dioxide. Sampling campaigns were conducted during the growing season 2013 in early May (at the beginning of the growing season) and in November (at the end of the growing season). We showed considerable seasonal variations of antioxidant enzymatic activity and total protein concentrations for all the samples studied. The test parameters varied depending on the host plants exposition to pollution with nitrogen dioxide. The changes in enzymatic activity did not depend on the host plants. In mistletoe leaves greater changes of SOD activity and total protein concentration were observed in autumn. There is correlation between the level of nitrogen dioxide in atmosphere and activities the enzymes. SOD activity was signifi cantly higher in autumn when the host plants were defoliated. Increased CAT activity was observed in late spring. We demonstrated the positive correlation between changes in enzyme activities and the progress of growing season. Increased activities of POD, CAT and APX to a limited extent depended on the place of growing and exposition to air pollution. In late spring activity of the enzymes did not signifi cant grow because of the protective umbrella from host plant leaves preventing the access of nitrogen dioxide to mistletoe. The higher SOD activity in mistletoe is a consequence of oxidative stress causes by nitrogen dioxides evidently observed in the city center. The test parameters, mainly the activity of SOD, can be used in the future as markers of the

Investigating the remediation potential of iron oxide nanoparticles in Cu-polluted soil–plant systems: coupled geochemical, geophysical and biological approaches

“…[61][62][63] In particular, POD, by catalysing the reaction between H 2 O 2 and ROOH to H 2 O and R-OH, directly ghts against cell damage. 64,65 Thus, the decrease in the TBARS content along with the increase in POD activity likely suggests that the antioxidant response acted effectively against ROS (avoiding ROS overproduction and the induced oxidative damage).…”

Determination of the chemical compositions of Viscum album ssp. album and soft core hosts

“…While the total protein, phenols, flavonoids also showed a defense related response in the plant, the chlorophyll content showed a decrease in the infected plant [19]. In autumn, V. album collected from Crataegus had the lowest protein content whereas protein content in the leaves of mistletoe hosted by Acer, Populous, and Robinia did not change significantly in different seasons [42].…”

Anatomical and Biochemical Aspects of Thevetia Peruviana L. A Commonly Planted Roadside Tropical Shrub of Bhubaneswar, Odisha

“…Environmental pollutants such as heavy metals, dust and gases are not only responsible to disturb the plant growth and development but also produce more ROS. However, antioxidative enzymes like CAT, GPX and SOD are playing a vital function in the cells to prevent the build-up of ROS [15,37,38]. Increased activities of these enzymes are considered as indicators of oxidative stress in plants.…”

“…Pollutants like SO2, nitrogen dioxide and O3 are mainly responsible to produce vast quantities of reactive oxygen species (ROS) such as hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), nitrite (NO2 -), hydroxyl (OH • ), peroxyl (OH2 • ) and superoxide (O2 •─ ) radicals to create oxidative stress [13]. But, plants able to overcome the oxidative stress by using antioxidant enzymes such as CAT, GPX and SOD which scavenge different ROS and are considered to be a biomarker for air pollution stress [14,15].…”