Iddrisu Lukman, Lin Jiehao, Mkulo Evodia Moses, Fang Zhijia
College of Food Science and Technology, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Aquatic Product Processing and Safety, Guangdong Provincial Engineering Technology, Research Center of Marine Food, Key Laboratory of Advanced Processing of Aquatic Products of Guangdong Higher Education Institution, Guangdong Ocean University, Zhanjiang, 524088, China.
College of Fisheries, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Pathogenic Biology and Epidemiology for Aquatic Economic Animals, Guangdong Ocean University, Zhanjiang, China.
Biometals. 2025 Jun 18. doi: 10.1007/s10534-025-00709-2.
Cadmium (Cd) has emerged as a major pollutant in agricultural soils and is known for its strong bioaccumulation potential and high toxicity even at low concentrations. Soybeans, an important grain crop in China, are particularly vulnerable to Cd contamination, which adversely affects germination and yields. Amino acids mitigate Cd toxicity and may influence Cd uptake in plants. This study aimed to evaluate the capacity of selected amino acids to mitigate Cd-induced toxicity during soybean seed germination and to investigate their effects on Cd uptake and accumulation in seedling tissues. Soybean seeds were exposed to varying Cd concentrations (0-500 mg/L), with or without amino acid supplementation. At low Cd concentrations (0-50 mg/L), the germination rate showed a slight decline, followed by recovery. However, at 100 mg/L, germination significantly decreased, and at 500 mg/L, it decreased to 2.5%. The application of histidine, serine, tyrosine, cysteine, and methionine to seeds exposed to 500 mg/L Cd significantly increased germination compared to untreated Cd-exposed seeds, with improvements ranging from approximately 2- to fivefold, and the highest recovery was observed in cysteine-treated seeds (up to 13.2%). Notably, the Cd content per gram of tissue was higher in amino acid-treated seedlings than in untreated controls, suggesting that amino acids may chelate Cd ions and facilitate their uptake, thereby alleviating toxicity during germination and promoting increased Cd accumulation in tissues. In conclusion, although specific amino acids can partially restore germination under high Cd stress, they may also enhance Cd accumulation in soybean seedlings.
镉（Cd）已成为农业土壤中的主要污染物，以其强大的生物累积潜力和即使在低浓度下也具有的高毒性而闻名。大豆是中国重要的粮食作物，特别容易受到镉污染的影响，这会对发芽和产量产生不利影响。氨基酸可减轻镉的毒性，并可能影响植物对镉的吸收。本研究旨在评估所选氨基酸在大豆种子萌发过程中减轻镉诱导毒性的能力，并研究它们对幼苗组织中镉吸收和积累的影响。将大豆种子暴露于不同的镉浓度（0 - 500毫克/升），添加或不添加氨基酸。在低镉浓度（0 - 50毫克/升）下，发芽率略有下降，随后恢复。然而，在100毫克/升时，发芽率显著降低，在500毫克/升时，发芽率降至2.5%。与未处理的镉暴露种子相比，将组氨酸、丝氨酸、酪氨酸、半胱氨酸和蛋氨酸应用于暴露于500毫克/升镉的种子显著提高了发芽率，提高幅度约为2至5倍，在半胱氨酸处理的种子中观察到最高的恢复率（高达13.2%）。值得注意的是，氨基酸处理的幼苗每克组织中的镉含量高于未处理的对照，这表明氨基酸可能螯合镉离子并促进其吸收，从而在发芽过程中减轻毒性并促进组织中镉积累的增加。总之，尽管特定氨基酸可以在高镉胁迫下部分恢复发芽，但它们也可能增强大豆幼苗中镉的积累。
