Department of Botany, Government College University Faisalabad, Faisalabad, 38000, Pakistan.
College of Plant Science and Technology, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, 430070, China.
Environ Sci Pollut Res Int. 2024 Feb;31(6):9844-9856. doi: 10.1007/s11356-024-31875-4. Epub 2024 Jan 10.
Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) is among the plants that are at risk from cadmium (Cd), a hazardous heavy metal that can be fatal due to its rapid absorption and high mobility. Being taken up from the soil and moving to the shoots and roots of edible plants, it enters the food chain and poses a health concern to people worldwide. A strategically important cereal crop, wheat has a demonstrated role in human health systems, particularly in poor nations. In this study, we describe the effects of nitric oxide (NO) on the growth, nutrition, and physiological functions of commercially cultivated wheat cvs. Galaxy 2013 and Akbar 2019 under Cd stress. Four-week-old plants were subjected to Cd (0.5 mM) stress, and after 2 weeks of Cd toxicity, foliar application of nitric oxide (100 and 150 μM) was carried out. As evident from excessive antioxidant production, Cd toxicity increased reactive oxygen species (ROS) level like HO and significantly (p ≤ 0.001) decreased nutrient acquisition, growth, and yield attributes of plants under experiment. The severity of the effect varied between cultivars under investigation. A minimum accumulation of MDA (44%) and HO (55%) was found in the cv. Akbar 2019 under Cd stress, whilst cv. Galaxy 2013 showed the highest accumulation of the oxidative stress indicators malondialdehyde content (MDA) (48%) and HO (60%). Reduced and oxidized glutathione contents were also increased under Cd-induced toxicity. The application of NO resulted in a significant improvement of 22, 25, 25, and 30% in shoot fresh weight, root fresh weight, shoot dry weight, and root dry weight, respectively. Additionally, there was an increased uptake of Ca (16%), K (5%), chlorophyll a (46%), b (32%), a/b ratio (41%), and carotenoid (28%). When compared with Cd-stressed plants, yield parameters like 100 grain weight, number of tillers plant, and grain yield plant improved by 14, 17, and 33%, respectively, under NO application. We concluded from the results of this study that NO treatments increased plant development by lowering oxidative stress and limiting Cd uptake. It is inferred from the results of this study that wheat production with reduced heavy metal uptake may be facilitated using NO due to its cytoprotective properties and its interaction with ROS.
小麦（Triticum aestivum L.）是易受镉（Cd）危害的植物之一，镉是一种危险的重金属，由于其快速吸收和高迁移性，可能致命。镉从土壤中被吸收，并转移到可食用植物的茎和根中，进入食物链，对全球人类健康构成威胁。小麦作为一种具有战略重要性的谷物作物，在人类健康系统中发挥了重要作用，特别是在贫穷国家。在这项研究中，我们描述了一氧化氮（NO）对商业种植的小麦品种 Galaxy 2013 和 Akbar 2019 在镉胁迫下的生长、营养和生理功能的影响。四叶期的植株受到 0.5 mM 的 Cd 胁迫，在 Cd 毒性 2 周后，进行了叶片喷施一氧化氮（100 和 150 μM）处理。如过量抗氧化剂产生所表明的那样，Cd 毒性增加了活性氧（ROS）水平，如 HO，并显著（p≤0.001）降低了实验中植物的养分吸收、生长和产量特性。在受调查的品种之间，影响的严重程度有所不同。在 Cd 胁迫下，品种 Akbar 2019 的 MDA（44%）和 HO（55%）积累最少，而品种 Galaxy 2013 表现出最高的氧化应激指标丙二醛（MDA）（48%）和 HO（60%）积累。还原型和氧化型谷胱甘肽含量也在 Cd 诱导的毒性下增加。NO 的应用导致地上部鲜重、根鲜重、地上部干重和根干重分别显著提高 22%、25%、25%和 30%。此外，Ca（16%）、K（5%）、叶绿素 a（46%）、b（32%）、a/b 比（41%）和类胡萝卜素（28%）的吸收也有所增加。与 Cd 胁迫下的植物相比，NO 处理下的百粒重、分蘖数和单株产量分别提高了 14%、17%和 33%。我们从这项研究的结果中得出结论，NO 处理通过降低氧化应激和限制 Cd 吸收来促进植物发育。从这项研究的结果中可以推断，由于一氧化氮具有细胞保护特性及其与 ROS 的相互作用，使用一氧化氮可能有助于减少重金属吸收的小麦生产。
