Chromium uptake and its impact on antioxidant level, photosynthetic machinery, and related gene expression in Brassica napus cultivars

• Published in: Environmental science and pollution research international 2024-10, Vol.31 (49), p.59363-59381
• Main Authors: Batool, Iram, Ayyaz, Ahsan, Zhang, Kangni, Hannan, Fakhir, Sun, Yongqi, Qin, Tongjun, Athar, Habib Ur Rehman, Naeem, Muhammad Shahbaz, Zhou, Weijun, Farooq, Muhammad Ahsan
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Antioxidants; Antioxidants - metabolism; Aquatic Pollution; Atmospheric Protection/Air Quality Control/Air Pollution; Biochemical characteristics; Biochemistry; Brassica; Brassica napus; Brassica napus - drug effects; Brassica napus - genetics; Brassica napus - metabolism; Cellular structure; Chlorophyll - metabolism; Chromium; Cultivars; Damage tolerance; Earth and Environmental Science; Ecotoxicology; Electron transfer; Environment; Environmental Chemistry; Environmental Health; Enzymatic activity; Gene expression; Gene Expression - drug effects; Gene regulation; Heavy metals; Hydrogen peroxide; Nutrients; Oxidation resistance; Oxidative Stress; Photochemicals; Photosynthesis; Photosystem II; Rape plants; Rapeseed; Reactive oxygen species; Reactive Oxygen Species - metabolism; Research Article; Stress response; Structural integrity; Ultrastructure; Waste Water Technology; Water Management; Water Pollution Control
• ISSN: 1614-7499; 0944-1344; 1614-7499
• DOI: 10.1007/s11356-024-35175-9

The development of heavy metals, particularly chromium (Cr)-tolerant crop cultivars, is hampered due to lack of understanding of the mechanisms behind Cr stress tolerance. In this study, two Brassica napus cultivars, ZS758 and ZD622, were compared for Cr stress resistance by using the chlorophyll a fluorescence technique and biochemical characteristics. In both cultivars, Cr stress dramatically decreased PSII and PSI efficiency, biomass accumulation, and antioxidant enzyme levels. Although, cultivar ZS758 showed reduction in oxidative stress by decreasing the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in terms of reduced H 2 O 2 and MDA content and increased enzymatic activities of key antioxidants enzymes including SOD, APX, CAT, and POD activities that play a crucial role in the regulation of numerous transcriptional pathways involved in oxidative stress responses. Higher non-photochemical quenching (NPQ) and QY were found in tolerant ZS758 cultivar under Cr stress, indicating that tolerant cultivar had a greater capacity to preserve PSII activity under Cr stress by enhancing heat dissipation as a photo-protective component of NPQ. Lower PSI activity and electron transfer from PSII were confirmed by lower PSI efficiency and higher donor end limitation of PSI in both rapeseed cultivars. The Cr concentration was greater in the ZD622 as compared to ZS758, which affected the mineral nutrients profile and damaged the cellular ultrastructure and related gene expression levels. However, current study suggest that cultivar ZS758 is more resistant to Cr stress than ZD622 due to improved metabolism and structural integrity and Cr stress tolerance that is linked with the increased PSII activity, NPQ, and antioxidant potential; these physiological characteristics can be exploited to select cultivars for Cr stress tolerance.