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Glutathione-Mediated Alleviation of Chromium Toxicity in Rice Plants

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Abstract

A hydroponic experiment was conducted to determine the possible effect of exogenous glutathione (GSH) in alleviating chromium (Cr) stress through examining plant growth, chlorophyll contents, antioxidant enzyme activity, and lipid peroxidation in rice seedlings exposed to Cr toxicity. The results showed that plant growth and chlorophyll content were dramatically reduced when rice plants were exposed to 100 μM Cr. Addition of GSH in the culture solution obviously alleviated the reduction of plant growth and chlorophyll content. The activities of some antioxidant enzymes, including superoxide dismutase, catalase (CAT) and glutathione reductase in leaves, and CAT and glutathione peroxidase in roots showed obvious increase under Cr stress. Addition of GSH reduced malondialdehyde accumulation and increased the activities of these antioxidant enzymes in both leaves and roots, suggesting that GSH may enhance antioxidant capacity in Cr-stressed plants. Furthermore, exogenous GSH caused significant decrease of Cr uptake and root-to-shoot transport in the Cr-stressed rice plants. It can be assumed that GSH is involved in Cr compartmentalization in root cells.

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Acknowledgments

The project was supported by the Zhejiang Bureau of Science and Technology (2009C12050).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Agronomy, College of Agriculture and Biotechnology, Huajiachi Campus, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310029, China

    Fanrong Zeng, Boyin Qiu, Xiaojian Wu, Feibo Wu & Guoping Zhang

  2. College of Agronomy, Guizhou University, Guiyang, 550025, China

    Suzhen Niu

  3. Department of Agronomy, College of Agriculture and Biotechnology, Zhijinkong Campus, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310058, China

    Guoping Zhang

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  1. Fanrong Zeng
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  2. Boyin Qiu
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  3. Xiaojian Wu
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  4. Suzhen Niu
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Correspondence to Guoping Zhang.

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Highlights

►Exogenous application of GSH alleviated the reduction of plant growth and chlorophyll contents in Cr-stressed rice plants.

►Exogenous application of GSH reduced MDA accumulation and enhanced the antioxidant capacity in Cr-stressed rice plants.

►Exogenous application of GSH decreased Cr uptake and root-to-shoot transport in Cr-stressed rice plants.

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Zeng, F., Qiu, B., Wu, X. et al. Glutathione-Mediated Alleviation of Chromium Toxicity in Rice Plants. Biol Trace Elem Res 148, 255–263 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12011-012-9362-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12011-012-9362-4

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