Morphological Responses and Gene Expression of Grain Amaranth (Amaranthus spp.) Growing under Cd

Plants

Marián Tomka¹  Jana Žiarovská²  Ján Gažo²  Veronika Lancíková³  Andrea Hricová³ 

[1] Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Biotechnology and Food Sciences, Slovak University of Agriculture, 94976 Nitra, Slovakia;Department of Genetics and Plant Breeding, Faculty of Agrobiology and Food Resources, Slovak University of Agriculture, 94976 Nitra, Slovakia;Institute of Plant Genetics and Biotechnology, Plant Science and Biodiversity Centre, Slovak Academy of Sciences, 95007 Nitra, Slovakia;

关键词: cadmium stress;    grain amaranth;    stress-related genes;    phytoremediation potential;   

DOI  :  10.3390/plants9050572

来源: DOAJ

【 摘 要 】

Phytoremediation efficiency depends on the ability of plants to accumulate, translocate and resist high levels of metals without symptoms of toxicity. This study was conducted to evaluate the potential of grain amaranth for remediation of soils contaminated with Cd. Three grain amaranth varieties, “Pribina” (A. cruentus), “Zobor” (A. hypochondriacus x A. hybridus) and Plainsman (A. hypochondriacus x A. hybridus) were tested under different level of Cd (0, 5, 10 and 15 mg/L) in a hydroponic experimental treatment. All could be classified as Cd excluders or Cd-hypertolerant varieties able to grow and accumulate significant amounts of Cd from the hydroponic solution, preferentially in the roots. Under the highest level of Cd exposure, qRT-PCR expression analysis of five stress-related genes was examined in above- and below-ground biomass. The results show that the Cd concentration significantly increased the mRNA level of chitinase 5 (Chit 5) in amaranth roots as the primary site of metal stress. The involvement of phytochelatin synthase (PCS1) in Cd detoxification is suggested. Based on our findings, we can conclude that variety “Pribina” is the most Cd-tolerant among three tested and can be expected to be used in the phytomanagement of Cd loaded soils as an effective phytostabiliser.

【 授权许可】

Unknown