Salicylic Acid and Sodium Salicylate Alleviate Cadmium Toxicity to Different Extents in Maize (Zea mays L.)

• Published in: PloS one 2016-08, Vol.11 (8), p.e0160157
• Main Authors: Gondor, Orsolya Kinga, Pál, Magda, Darkó, Éva, Janda, Tibor, Szalai, Gabriella
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Abiotic stress; Accumulation; Acids; Aminoacyltransferases - metabolism; Antioxidants; Antioxidants - metabolism; Arabidopsis; Arabidopsis thaliana; Ascorbic Acid - metabolism; Biology and Life Sciences; Cadmium; Cadmium - toxicity; Catalase - metabolism; Chlorophyll - analysis; Corn; Detoxification; Ecology and Environmental Sciences; Environmental aspects; Environmental conditions; Enzymatic activity; Enzyme activity; Flowers & plants; Glutathione; Glutathione Reductase - metabolism; Glutathione Transferase - metabolism; Leaves; Malondialdehyde - analysis; Mode of action; Oryza; Oxidative Stress; Peroxidases - metabolism; Physical Sciences; Physiological aspects; Physiology; Phytochelatins - metabolism; Plant Leaves - chemistry; Plant Leaves - drug effects; Plant Leaves - metabolism; Plant Roots - chemistry; Plant Roots - drug effects; Plant Roots - metabolism; Research and Analysis Methods; Roots; Salicylic acid; Salicylic Acid - pharmacology; Salts; Seedlings; Seedlings - drug effects; Signal transduction; Sodium; Sodium salicylate; Sodium Salicylate - pharmacology; Spectrometry, Fluorescence; Sulfhydryl Compounds - analysis; Toxicity; Zea mays; Zea mays - drug effects; Zea mays - metabolism
• ISSN: 1932-6203; 1932-6203
• DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0160157

The role of salicylic acid in Cd tolerance has attracted more attention recently but no information is available on the efficiency of different forms of salicylic acid. The aim was thus to investigate whether both the acid and salt forms of salicylic acid provide protection against Cd stress and to compare their mode of action. Young maize plants were grown under controlled environmental conditions. One group of 10-day-old seedlings were treated with 0.5 mM SA or NaSA for 1 day then half of the pants were treated with 0.5 mM Cd for 1 day. Another group of seedlings was treated with 0.5 mM CdSO4 for 1 day without pre-treatment with SA or NaSA, while a third group was treated simultaneously with Cd and either SA or NaSA. Both salicylic acid forms reduced the Cd accumulation in the roots. Treatment with the acidic form meliorated the Cd accumulation in the leaves, while Na-salicylate increased the phytochelatin level in the roots and the amount of salicylic acid in the leaves. Furthermore, increased antioxidant enzyme activity was mainly induced by the acid form, while glutathione-related redox changes were influenced mostly by the salt form. The acidic and salt forms of salicylic acid affected the two antioxidant systems in different ways, and the influence of these two forms on the distribution and detoxification of Cd also differed. The present results also draw attention to the fact that generalisations about the stress protective mechanisms induced by salicylic acid are misleading since different forms of SA may exert different effects on the plants via separate mechanisms.