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Oxidative injury and antioxidant genes regulation in cadmium-exposed radicles of six contrasted Medicago truncatula genotypes

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Abstract

Oxidative disorders were triggered in the presence of Cd toxicity in early seedling growth of six Medicago truncatula genotypes. Interactions between root growth inhibition, cadmium uptake, as well as the occurrence of oxidative injury suggest differential responses of the genotypes, with susceptible or tolerant accessions. ROS enhancement was observed in situ and H2O2 content was measured, that did not seem related to tolerance or susceptibility. Oxidative burst impact on cell membrane integrity was analyzed in agreement with MDA content and glucose exudation, which suggest an active role of this burst in susceptible lines. Transcriptional changes in response to cadmium treatment were analyzed on target genes involved in (1) ROS-scavenging enzymes (superoxide dismutase (SOD; EC1.15.1.1) and peroxidase (PRX; EC 1.11.1.7)), (2) reduced glutathione (γ-Glu-Cys-Gly, GSH) metabolism (glutathione-S-transferase (GST; EC: 2.5.1.18) and glutathione reductase (GR; EC 1.8.1.7)), and (3) metal-chelating metabolism (PCS). The susceptible line shows no response or non-timely gene expression patterns. This research work gave an overview of the deleterious effects and oxidative injury of cadmium stress in Medicago truncatula. Oxidative defense efficiency and gene upregulation should explain relative tolerance in tested genotypes.

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Abbreviations

Cd:

Cadmium

DW:

Dry weight

FW:

Fresh weight

GR:

Glutathione reductase

GST:

Glutathione-S-transferase

GSH:

Reduced glutathione

MDA:

Malondialdehyde

ROS:

Reactive oxygen species

SOD:

Superoxide dismutase

Tub:

Tubulin

PCS:

Phytochelatin synthase

PCs:

Phytochelatins

PRX:

Peroxidase

Ubq:

Ubiquitin

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Acknowledgments

This work is financially supported by the Tunisian Ministry of High Education and Scientific Research. The authors wish to thank Dr. Othman Bousandal for help regarding atomic absorption spectrophotometer analyses, Mr. Bechir Azib, Mr. Abbes Oucherine for technical assistance. The authors acknowledge the help of the Toulouse Réseau Imagerie (TRI) platform for microscopy experiments and the GeT-PlaGe platform facilities for gene expression analyses.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Toxicologie Végétale & Biologie Moléculaire des Microorganismes, Faculté des Sciences de Bizerte, 7021, Zarzouna, Bizerte, Tunisia

    Sondès Rahoui, Abdelilah Chaoui & Ezzeddine El Ferjani

  2. Ecologie Fonctionnelle et Environnement, UMR 5245 CNRS-INP/ENSAT-UPS, 18, Chemin de Borde Rouge, 31326, Castanet-Tolosan, France

    Sondès Rahoui, Cécile Ben, Ahad Yamchi, Martina Rickauer & Laurent Gentzbittel

  3. Surfaces Cellulaires et Signalisation chez les Végétaux, UPS-CNRS UMR 5546, 31326, Castanet-Tolosan, France

    Yves Martinez

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  1. Sondès Rahoui
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  2. Cécile Ben
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  3. Abdelilah Chaoui
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  4. Yves Martinez
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  8. Ezzeddine El Ferjani
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Correspondence to Sondès Rahoui.

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Rahoui, S., Ben, C., Chaoui, A. et al. Oxidative injury and antioxidant genes regulation in cadmium-exposed radicles of six contrasted Medicago truncatula genotypes. Environ Sci Pollut Res 21, 8070–8083 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-014-2718-x

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