Physio-Biochemical Indexes as Indicators of Cadmium Tolerance in <i>Brassica napus</i> L. Cultivars
Cadmium (Cd) is a non-essential heavy metal and a pervasive pollutant in agricultural soils. Despite numerous studies investigating Cd accumulation and tolerance in plants, there is a lack of systematic analysis of how various physio-biochemical indexes respond to Cd toxicity, particularly their ind...
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| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
MDPI AG
2025-01-01
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| Series: | Agriculture |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0472/15/2/132 |
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| Summary: | Cadmium (Cd) is a non-essential heavy metal and a pervasive pollutant in agricultural soils. Despite numerous studies investigating Cd accumulation and tolerance in plants, there is a lack of systematic analysis of how various physio-biochemical indexes respond to Cd toxicity, particularly their indicative role in plant tolerance mechanisms. A pot experiment was conducted in greenhouse to assess the differences in Cd accumulation and tolerance among three <i>Brassica napus</i> L. cultivars (‘Hanyou 2’, ‘Hanyou 3’, and ‘Hanyou 16’) under the treatments of CK (0.18 mg kg<sup>−1</sup> in soil), T1 (2.18 mg kg<sup>−1</sup> in soil), T2 (4.18 mg kg<sup>−1</sup> in soil), and T3 (8.18 mg kg<sup>−1</sup> in soil). All three cultivars exhibited high tolerance indexes (TIs) and strong Cd tolerance when exposed to a Cd concentration of 2.18 mg kg<sup>−1</sup> in soil (T1). There were significant positive correlations between TI and chlorophyll a (Chla), chlorophyll b (Chlb), carotenoids (Car), net photosynthetic rate (Pn), transpiration rate (Tr), and activities of antioxidant enzymes and non-enzymatic antioxidants such as superoxide dismutase (SOD), ascorbate peroxidase (APX), glutathione (GSH), and ascorbic acid (ASA), while negatively correlating with intercellular CO<sub>2</sub> concentration (Ci) and malondialdehyde (MDA) content. These findings underscore the significant indicative role of these physio-biochemical indexes in elucidating Cd tolerance mechanisms in <i>B. napus</i> and may be used in breeding programs to develop cultivars with a high Cd-tolerance but low Cd uptake profile. However, this was a pot experiment only. Field experiments might be more useful in the future. |
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| ISSN: | 2077-0472 |