Enzymatic adaptations to arsenic-induced oxidative stress in Zea mays and genotoxic effect of arsenic in root tips of Vicia faba and Zea mays.

Agronomic plant species may display physiological and biochemical responses to oxidative stress caused by heavy metals and metalloids. Zea mays plants were grown hydroponically for eight days at different concentrations of As (0, 134 and 668 μM) and at different pH (4, 7 and 9). Metabolic variations in response to As toxicity were measured using physiological parameters and antioxidant enzymatic activities. A significant decrease in SOD activity was observed in the leaves and roots of Z. mays with the majority of As treatments. As decreased G-POX activity less in leaves than in roots. An increase in the concentration of As increased APX activity in leaves and roots, except As(V) at pH 4 and pH 9 in the leaves and As(III) at pH 9 in the roots, when there was a significant decrease in APX activity at low As concentrations. After exposure to As(V), CAT activity was the same as in the control. As(III) led to an increase in CAT activity in leaves and to a decrease in roots. With increasing concentrations of As(III), CAT activity increased in both leaves and roots whatever the pH. To obtain more detailed knowledge on the effects of arsenate and arsenite exposure on Vicia faba and Z. mays, root meristems were also examined. Roots were fed hydroponically with 134, 334, 534 and 668 μM arsenate or arsenite and 4 × 10(-3)M of maleic hydrazide as positive control, at three different pH. Physiological parameters, the mitotic index and micronuclei frequencies were evaluated in root meristems. At all three pH, the highest As(V) and As(III) concentrations induced a substantial modification in root colour, increased root thickness with stiffening, and reduced root length. High concentrations also caused a significant decrease in the mitotic index, and micronucleus chromosomic aberrations were observed in the root meristems of both species.

Duquesnoy I ，Champeau GM ，Evray G ，Ledoigt G ，Piquet-Pissaloux A ... -  《-》

Arsenate-induced toxicity: effects on antioxidative enzymes and DNA damage in Vicia faba.

Lin A ，Zhang X ，Zhu YG ，Zhao FJ ... -  《ENVIRONMENTAL TOXICOLOGY AND CHEMISTRY》

Involvement of the plant antioxidative response in the differential growth sensitivity to salinity of leaves vs roots during cell development.

Sensitivity to salinity varies between plant organs and between cells of different developmental stages within a single organ. The physiological and molecular bases for the differential responses are not known. Exposure of plants to salinity is known to induce formation of reactive oxygen species (ROS), which are involved in damage mechanisms but also in cell growth processes. The objective of this study was to elucidate developmental-stage-specific and organ-specific involvement of oxidative defense in the plant response to salinity in maize (Zea mays L.). Plants were grown in nutrient solution containing 1mM NaCl (control) or 80mM NaCl. The oxidative stress response and damage symptoms along the cell developmental gradient in growing and mature tissue of leaves and roots were examined. Unlike leaves, roots did not suffer oxidative damage in either growing or mature cells and demonstrated reduced antioxidant response. This may reflect different requirements of ROS for growth mechanisms of leaf and root cells. In leaves, growing tissue demonstrated higher stimulation of superoxide dismutase (SOD) and ascorbate peroxidase (APX) activity under salinity than mature tissue, whereas mature tissue demonstrated higher stimulation of catalase. These results indicate differential roles for these ROS-scavenging enzymes at different cell developmental stages. Because ROS are required for cell expansion, the higher increase in SOD and APX activities in the growing leaf cells that resulted in reduction of ROS content under salinity could lead to the inhibition of cell growth under salinity.

Bernstein N ，Shoresh M ，Xu Y ，Huang B ... -  《-》

Oxidative damage induced in Vicia faba by coke plant wastewater.

Liu Y ，Lv Y 《-》

The influence of selenium on root growth and oxidative stress induced by lead in Vicia faba L. minor plants.

Mroczek-Zdyrska M ，Wójcik M 《-》