Effects of Antimony Stress on Photosynthesis and Growth of Acorus calamus

Abstract

This study was aimed to explore that effects of Sb on physiological parameters of Acorus calamus and the possibility of using A. calamus as a remediation plant. A. calamus potted experiments were conducted using different concentrations (0, 250, 500, 1000, and 2000 mg/kg) of antimony potassium tartrate (Sb3+) (marked as CK, T1, T2, T3, and T4, respectively) and potassium pyroantimonate (Sb5+) (marked as CK, T′1, T′2, T′3, and T′4, respectively). The effects of Sb stress (Sb3+ and Sb5+) on leaf photosynthetic pigments, biomass, photosynthetic characteristics and chlorophyll fluorescence parameters of potted A. calamus were studied. With the rise of Sb3+ concentration from T1 to T4, the leaf pigment contents (chlorophyll a, b, carotenoid), plant height, dry weight, net photosynthetic rate (Pn), stomatal conductance (Gs), evaporation rate (E), PSII maximum photochemical efficiency (Fv/Fm), and PSII electron transfer quantum yield rate (ΦPSII) of A. calamus all reduced, while intercellular CO2 concentration (Ci) significantly increased. The reduction of Pn was mainly induced by non-stomatal limitation. Chlorophyll a/b ratio increased significantly versus the control, while carotenoid/chlorophyll ratio (Car/Chl) first decreased and then increased. The leaf Chl a, Chl b, Car, plant height, dry weight, Pn, Gs, E, Fv/Fm, and ΦPSII all maximized in T′1 (250 mg/kg), but were not significantly different from the control. As the Sb5+ concentration increased from T′2 to T′4, the above indices all decreased and were significantly different from the control. Moreover, intercellular CO2 concentration (Ci) decreased significantly. The reduction of Pn was caused by non-stomatal limitation, indicating the mesophyll cells were damaged. The Car/Chl ratio was stable within 0–500 mg/kg Sb, but decreased in T3 and T4, and rose in T′3 and T′4. After Sb3+ and Sb5+ treatments, translocation factor varied 19.44–27.8 and 19.44–24.86%, respectively. In conclusion, different form Sb3+ treatment, Sb5+ treatment showed a Hormesi effect, as low-concentration treatment promoted A. calamus growth, but high-concentration treatment inhibited its growth. The two forms of Sb both caused unfavorable effects on A. calamus, but the seedlings did not die and were modestly adaptive and Sb-accumulative. A. calamus, which is easily maintained and cultivated, can serve as a good candidate for phytoremediation of water contaminated with Sb.

Study on the effects of polymer modifiers and phloem girdling on cotton in cadmium-contaminated soil in Xinjiang Province, China

“…After girdling, the Pn, Gs, and Tr all decreased, and only Ci increased, indicating that the decrease of photosynthetic rate was mainly caused by non-stomatal factors 26 . This is consistent with the conclusion of Zhou et al 27 . Without girdling, the applications of the two modifiers significantly decreased the inhibition from Cd on Pn of cotton leaves.…”

Effects of Antimony on Reactive Oxygen and Nitrogen Species (ROS and RNS) and Antioxidant Mechanisms in Tomato Plants

“…Roots show greater accumulation of this element, with values much greater than those of the leaves. The effect of Sb on the growth has also been observed in other plants (Pan et al, 2011;Shtangeeva et al, 2011;Bech et al, 2012;Cai et al, 2016;Chai et al, 2017;Ortega et al, 2017;Zhou et al, 2018). For tomatoes, Peško et al (2016) report a different behavior -the lower concentrations produce an increase in dry weight and the higher ones a reduction in both the stems and roots.…”

Arbuscular Mycorrhiza Improves Photosynthesis and Restores Alteration in Sugar Metabolism in Triticum aestivum L. Grown in Arsenic Contaminated Soil

“…Carotenoids are accessory pigments that protect Chl a and Chl b from oxidative damage ( Hou et al, 2007 ). Several studies have related decline in Chl pigments to reduced level of carotenoids ( Zhou et al, 2018 ; Sil et al, 2019 ; Majumder et al, 2020 ). Higher concentration of total carotenoids in M than NM plants at all levels of As stress suggests protection of Chl from As-induced oxidative damage.…”

“…However, the exact mechanism for such differential behavior under As stress needs further investigation. Higher Chl a / b ratio indicates higher distress on thylakoids ( Zhou et al, 2018 ), which reflects a plant’s inadequacy to transfer electron and excitation energy to the PSII core complex ( Xu et al, 1995 ). Dose-dependent increase in Chl a / b ratio in T. aestivum in present study is in line with the reports on maize, wheat, and rice ( Dresler et al, 2014 ; Sil et al, 2019 ; Majumder et al, 2020 ).…”