Is the Binding Pattern of Zinc(II) Equal in Different Bryophyte Species?

Abstract

Bryophytes are usually taken as good bioindicators. However, they represent a large group of terrestrial plants and they express an enormous range of peculiarities within the plant kingdom. With the aim to search for a common pattern of zinc binding, we established axenical in vitro cultures of a dozen bryophyte species that include hornworts, thallose, and leafy liverworts, as well as acrocarp and pleurocarp mosses. The species were grown free of contaminants for many years prior to the application of different treatments, i.e. offering Zn(II) from solid and liquid media and in combination with different anions. The localization and binding of zinc was detected by confocal microscopy using the zinc-specific dye FluoZin™-3. In one of the species, Hypnum cupressiforme (which is widely used for atmospheric heavy metal deposition studies in biomonitoring), semi-quantitative analyses of zinc were performed by energy dispersive X-ray microspectrometry (EDX) in a scanning electron microscope. The results suggest no common pattern of Zn(II) binding in different bryophyte species. Instead, the binding pattern seems to be species specific. Zinc is located in certain areas or cellular compartments, as clearly shown by the EDX measurements in H. cupressiforme.

The toxic metal stress in two mosses of different growth forms under axenic and controlled conditions

“…Similar effects were achieved in this species with the lower concentration of metals, as shown by the IM values. Such an effect with zinc treatment in this species was also confirmed by Sabovljević et al (2018b).…”

“…In line with our earlier conclusions on the tested species, the higher cation binding capacity of H. cupressiforme may have made it more susceptible to the toxic effects of cadmium. Additionally, A. undulatum may possess more efficient detoxifying mechanisms than H. cupressiforme when exposed to excess cadmium or it simply does not bind as was shown for this species and zinc (Sabovljević et al 2018b). Parrotta et al (2015) stated that even closely related plant species respond differently to Cd-exposure and that different coping mechanisms may exist.…”

“…This is particularly true for those species that differ in growth forms and/or nutrient acquisition mechanisms (Fabure et al 2010). Some studies have made a direct comparison between pleurocarpous and acrocarpous mosses in terms of metal accumulation capacities (Fabure et al 2010;Gorelova et al 2016;Izquieta-Rojano et al 2016;Sabovljević et al 2018b), but there are virtually no in vitro (controlled condition) studies which directly investigate the effects of different metals on the species characterized by these two growth forms.…”

Introductory Chapter: Bryophytes 2020

“…Among the interesting features of bryophytes, being an ecological indicator should not be passed by (e.g., [6][7][8]). Many species occur on specific pH of the substrate, or indicate by appearance air quality.…”

“…Bryophytes have no huge commercial values, at present. These values come from a huge number of both biotic and abiotic interactions as well as their peculiarities (e.g., [6,11,12]). However, they have huge applicative potential, which is lately noticed but still neglected compared to vascular plants.…”