Characterization of cadmium accumulation mechanism between eggplant (Solanum melongena L.) cultivars

Abstract

Excessive cadmium (Cd) accumulation in vegetables due to farmland pollution constitutes a serious threat to human health. Eggplant has a tendency to accumulate Cd. To investigate the mechanism of the differences in Cd accumulation levels between high-Cd (BXGZ) and low-Cd (MYQZ) eggplant cultivar, physiological and biochemical indicators and mRNA expression of eggplant were examined using photosynthetic apparatus, biochemical test kits, Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy and transcriptome sequencing, etc. The results of biochemical test kits and FTIR revealed that MYQZ enhanced pectin methylesterase (PME) activity, and lignin and pectin content in the root cell wall, which was associated with the upregulation of PME, cinnamyl-alcohol dehydrogenase and peroxidase (PODs). Higher levels of cysteine and glutathione (GSH) contents and upregulation of genes associated with sulfur metabolism, as well as higher expression of ATP-binding cassette transporters (ABCs), cation exchangers (CAX) and metal tolerance proteins (MTPs) were observed in MYQZ. In BXGZ, the higher stomatal density and stomatal aperture as well as higher levels of Ca2+ binding protein-1 (PCaP1) and aquaporins and lower levels of A2-type cyclins (CYCA2-1) are consistent with an enhanced transpiration rate in BXGZ. Furthermore, a more developed root system was shown to be associated with higher levels of auxin response factor (ARF19), GATA transcription factors (GATA4, 5 and 11) and auxin efflux carrier component (PIN5) in BXGZ. In conclusion, highly active PME, and higher levels of lignin and pectin in MYQZ are expected to reduce Cd toxicity, while Cd translocation can be inhibited with the help of ABC and other Cd transporters. As for BXGZ, the uptake and translocation of Cd were enhanced by the developed root system and stronger transpiration.

Boron decreases cadmium accumulation in water spinach by enhancing cadmium retention in the root cell walls

“…The peak at 1375 cm − 1 corresponded to the -COOH groups in pectin (Wang et al 2020;Xu et al 2015). The peaks observed at 1520, 1325, and 1242 cm − 1 were found to be associated with the sinapyl (S-) and guaiacyl (G-) aromatic rings of lignin (Guo et al 2021;Huang et al 2023a;Shen et al 2023). Peaks at 1152 and 1056 cm − 1 was related to the C-O-C, C-C, and C-OH bonds in cellulose and hemicellulose (Ren et al 2020).…”

Status of Heavy Metals in Soil and Vegetables Grown in Peri-Urban Areas of Jabalpur District, Madhya Pradesh, India

“…According to [34] the result of growing levels of Fe in plants was the ongoing usage of sewage water. It is common for brinjal to collect Cd [35], even when grown on lightly contaminated soil [36].…”