Lectin involvement in the development of wheat tolerance to cadmium toxicity

Protective effect of wheat germ agglutinin on the course of mitosis in the roots of Triticum aestivum seedlings exposed to cadmium

“…Our experimental data about WGA-induced stimulation of cell divisions in root apical meristem in a native system of wheat plants under normal growing conditions corroborated this assumption [15,16]. In addition, we found that exposure to toxic ions of sodium and cadmium causes a sharp ABA-mediated transitory accumulation of WGA in wheat roots accompanied by its excretion to the root cap area and external medium [12,17]. These results suggested that excreted WGA may favor preservation of mitotic potential of root cells under stress and resumption of proliferation of apical meristem cells after stress.…”

“…Wheat roots are one of the major sites of synthesis and accumulation of WGA [10,17]. On the basis of our earlier obtained results pointing to participation of WGA in regulation of cell divisions in the root tips of wheat seedlings in normal conditions and under salinization [15,16,18] and reports about cadmiuminduced ABA-mediated reversible accumulation of WGA in the roots accompanied by its release to the incubation medium [12], we tried to estimate the ability of WGA excreted to the external medium to produce a protective effect on mitotic activity of proliferating root cells under cadmium stress.…”

“…A gene encoding wheat germ agglutinin (WGA) that is a typical representative of cereal lectins also belongs to RAB (responsive to ABA) proteins [9], and this lectin possessing a great affinity for N-acetyl-D-glucosamine is characteristic of wheat plants over the whole ontogenesis [10,11]. Because cadmium treatment induces accumulation of ABA in plants [12,13], one could expect that WGA is involved in a range of ABAgoverned wheat plant protective reactions under these conditions [12].…”

Galactoglucomannan oligosaccharides alleviate cadmium stress in Arabidopsis

“…On the other hand, the presence of WGA lectin changed cadmium localization. The decrease was observed in endodermis and inner tissues, which restricted the movement of Cd ions in the xylem vessels and reduced the level of their accumulation in the shoot (Bezrukova et al, 2011).…”

“…Studies on the distribution of metals within plant tissues are necessary in order to understand the physiology of metal hyperaccumulation and tolerance (Vogel-Mikuš et al, 2008). A study by Bezrukova et al (2011) confirmed that the application of substances protecting plants against heavy metals can lead to changes in metal distribution. The chronological view of cadmium distribution in the tissues from the start of cultivation in this study is an original approach.…”