Enzymatic response to cadmium by Impatiens glandulifera: A preliminary investigation

Abstract

This paper aims to develop our understanding of the effect of cadmium (Cd) on Impatiens glandulifera , a recently identified potential Cd hyperaccumulator. Impatiens glandulifera plants were exposed to three concentrations of Cd (20, 60 and 90 mg/kg) and were sampled at two timepoints (one and seven days) to investigate the stress response of I. glandulifera to Cd. Cd can induce oxidative stress in plants, triggering overproduction of reactive oxygen species (ROS). The level of activity of catalase (CAT) and ascorbate peroxidase (APX), two crucial antioxidant enzymes responsible for detoxifying ROS, were found to increase in a concentration dependent manner. Though there was no change observed in the level of superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity, the activity of glutathione S-transferase (GST), involved in detoxifying and sequestering Cd, increased after exposure to Cd. Cd did not appear to impact the levels of proline and photosynthetic pigments, indicating the plants weren't stressed by the presence of Cd. These results suggest that the rapid response observed in enzyme activity aid the efficacious mitigation of the toxic effects of Cd, preventing significant physiological stress in I. glandulifera .

Integrated transcriptomic and metabolomic analyses of pak choi [Brassica pekinensis (Lour.) Rupr] response to combined stress of acid rain and cadmium-containing atmospheric fine particulate matter

“…As a non-essential element, Cd can produce serious toxic effects on plants physiologically and can detriment plants' morphological, physiological, and molecular characteristics (He et al, 2017;Rasafi et al, 2020). Numerous academic studies found that Cd can inhibit plant growth and development by affecting multiple metabolic pathways such as plant photosynthesis, carbohydrate metabolism, nitrogen metabolism, phytohormone signaling, and ion transporter genes and transcription factors (TFs) (Chen et al, 2020;Coakley et al, 2021;Hussain et al, 2021). In recent years, a large number of genes involved in Cd regulation have been detected using transcriptomics (Peng et al, 2015), which provide an understanding of the molecular mechanisms of Cd uptake, transport, and detoxification.…”