Effects of insoluble Zn,Cd,and EDTA on the growth,activities of antioxidant enzymes and uptake of Zn and Cd in Vetiveria zizanioides

A root-bag experiment was conducted to study the effects of insoluble Zn, Cd, and ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid （EDTA） on the plant growth, activities of antioxidant enzymes, proline, glutathione （GSH）, water-soluble proteins and malondialdehyde （MDA） of Vetiveria zizanioides. The V. zizanioides uptake capacity of Zn and Cd also determined. The results showed that plant growth of V. zizanioides was inhibited by Zn and Cd. The shoot dry weight （SDW） and root dry weight （RDW） decrease by 14.2%, 14.1%, 17.0% and 17.3%, 32.5%, 35.7%, respectively, compared to the control without EDTA addition. After adding EDTA, shoot and root dry weight decreased over 10% and 15%, respectively. The toxicity from insoluble Zn and Cd in soil on SDW and RDW of V. zizanioides was in order： Zn＋Cd 〉 Cd 〉 Zn. The activities of superoxide dismutase （SOD）, peroxidase （POD） and catalase （CAT）, and contents of MDA and proline increased significantly, while the contents of GSH and water-soluble proteins decreased markedly with increasing Zn and Cd toxicity. With EDTA, shoot and root Zn concentrations increased in the Zn treatment by 7.3% and 37.4%, and Cd concentrations in the combined Zn and Cd treatment increased by 18.6% and 391.9% compared to the treatment without EDTA. However, Zn and Cd concentrations in shoot and roots decreased in the Cd treatment compared to the plants grown in absence of EDTA, with exception of root Cd concentration in the presence of EDTA.

Effect of heat stress on the MDA, proline and soluble sugar content in leaf lettuce seedlings

High temperature stress on different varieties of lettuce seedlings in MDA, proline and soluble sugar content were studied. The results were as follows : With the stress temperature, varieties of leaf lettuce seedlings in the MDA, proline and soluble sugar content gradually increased;Different varieties had the most significant difference in 38/33℃(d/n). The increase of heat-resistant varieties on proline and soluble sugar content was quick and high, while its increase in MDA content was slow and small.

Physiological Response of Halophyte (<i>Suaeda altissima</i>(L.) Pall.) and Glycophyte (<i>Spinacia oleracea</i>L.) to Salinity

We have done a comparative study of ion status, growth and biochemical parameters in shoots and roots of seablite (Suaeda altissima (L.) Pall.) and spinach (Spinacia oleracea L.) grown with different salinity levels in the medium (0.5 - 750 mМ). A distinctive feature of the halophyte was a high Na+ content in tissues at its low concentration in the medium (0.5 mM). In these conditions, Na+ accumulation in seablite roots was four-fold higher than in spinach roots, and Na+ content in seablite leaves was almost 20-fold higher than in spinach. Together with an increase in sodium concentration in the medium, K+ content decreased six-fold in seablite leaves, while in spinach it did not decrease so drastically. We can suppose that in the halophyte, some processes occur only in the presence of sodium, and these functions of sodium cannot be fully fulfilled by potassium. Analysis of protein and total nitrogen content in tissues shows that at high salinity, the ability to synthesize non-protein nitrogen-containing compounds increases in the halophyte and decreases in the glycophyte. Data on proline content dynamics show that its increase in tissues of spinach (salinity levels 150 and 250 mМ) and seablite (salinity levels 0.5 and 750 mМ) is an indicator of plant injury. In seablite and spinach, proline is not a major osmoregulator. Its concentration both in roots and leaves was no more than 2.5 μmol/g fresh weight. The data presented in this work concern the accumulation and distribution of Na+, Cl?, K+ and ions, as well as growth and biochemical parameters. Our data show that the development of adaptation reactions in the whole plants in the conditions of high salinity is determined by morphofunctional systems and their interaction.