Integrated physio-biochemical and transcriptomic analysis revealed mechanism underlying of Si-mediated alleviation to cadmium toxicity in wheat

• Published in: Journal of hazardous materials 2023-06, Vol.452, p.131366-131366, Article 131366
• Main Authors: Liu, Haitao, Jiao, Qiujuan, Fan, Lina, Jiang, Ying, Alyemeni, Mohammed Nasser, Ahmad, Parvaiz, Chen, Yinglong, Zhu, Mo, Liu, Haiping, Zhao, Ying, Liu, Fang, Liu, Shiliang, Li, Gezi
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Antioxidants; Antioxidants - metabolism; Cadmium - metabolism; Cadmium - toxicity; Reactive oxygen species; Silicon; Silicon - chemistry; Silicon - pharmacology; Soil Pollutants - metabolism; Soil Pollutants - toxicity; Transcriptome; Transcriptomic analysis; Triticum - metabolism
• ISSN: 0304-3894; 1873-3336
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2023.131366

Cadmium (Cd) contamination has resulted in serious reduction of crop yields. Silicon (Si), as a beneficial element, regulates plant growth to heavy metal toxicity mainly through reducing metal uptake and protecting plants from oxidative injury. However, the molecular mechanism underlying Si-mediated Cd toxicity in wheat has not been well understood. This study aimed to reveal the beneficial role of Si (1 mM) in alleviating Cd-induced toxicity in wheat (Triticum aestivum) seedlings. The results showed that exogenous supply of Si decreased Cd concentration by 67.45% (root) and 70.34% (shoot), and maintained ionic homeostasis through the function of important transporters, such as Lsi, ZIP, Nramp5 and HIPP. Si ameliorated Cd-induced photosynthetic performance inhibition through up-regulating photosynthesis-related genes and light harvesting-related genes. Si minimized Cd-induced oxidative stress by decreasing MDA contents by 46.62% (leaf) and 75.09% (root), and helped re-establish redox homeostasis by regulating antioxidant enzymes activities, AsA-GSH cycle and expression of relevant genes through signal transduction pathway. The results revealed molecular mechanism of Si-mediated wheat tolerance to Cd toxicity. Si fertilizer is suggested to be applied in Cd contaminated soil for food safety production as a beneficial and eco-friendly element. [Display omitted] •Si recovers Cd-induced growth inhibition in wheat seedlings.•Si reduced Cd uptake and maintained ionic homeostasis by regulating relevant transporters.•Si upregulates photosynthesis-related and light harvesting-related genes.•Signal transduction pathway plays important role in Si-mediated Cd toxicity alleviation.