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Effects of sulfur supply and hydrogen peroxide pretreatment on the responses by rice under cadmium stress

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Abstract

A hydroponic experiment was carried out to investigate the effects of sulfur (S) supply and hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) pretreatment on the growth and physiological responses by rice under cadmium (Cd) stress. Seedlings were grown with normal S level (3.4 mmol·L−1 sulfate), S deficiency (0 mmol·L−1 sulfate) for 6 days, or H2O2 (100 μmol·L−1) pretreatments for 1 day and subsequently exposed to 1.0 μmol·L−1 Cd for 7 days. In the S-deficient rice, both shoot and root Cd contents were increased 8.9 and 24.3 % respectively. In addition, cysteine (Cys), glutathione (GSH) and phytochelation (PC2–4) levels were increased significantly, while opposite effects were observed in the S-deficient rice. H2O2 pretreatment induced stronger Cd resistance in rice, as the amounts of thiols and the activity of glutathione S-transferase (GST) were all increased and the seedling growth was not inhibited by Cd stress. In conclusion, the results in this study demonstrated the adequate S supply and H2O2 pretreatment were important in Cd detoxification in rice through maintenance of cellular thiol levels and GST activity.

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Abbreviations

ACN:

Acetonitrile

Cd:

Cadmium

DTPA:

Diethylenetriamine-pentaacetic acid

GSH:

Reduced glutathione

GST:

Glutathione S-transferase

HEPES:

4-(2-Hydroxyethyl)-piperazine-1-propane sulfonic acid

mBBr:

Monobromobimane

MSA:

Methanesulfonic acid

PCS:

Phytochelatin synthase

PCs:

Phytochelatins

ROS:

Reactive oxygen species

RP-UPLC:

Reverse phase-ultra performance liquid chromatography

TBA:

Thiobarbituric acid

TBARS:

Thiobarbituric acid reactive substances

TFA:

Trifluoroacetic acid

TCEP:

Tris(β-chloroethyl)phosphate

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Acknowledgments

Financial support from the Natural Science Foundation of China (30700479) and Research Fund for the Doctoral Program of Higher Education of China (20090097110035, 20110097110004) and Research Fund of State Key Laboratory of Soil and Sustainable Agriculture, Nanjing Institute of Soil Science, Chinese Academy of Science (Y052010019) are gratefully acknowledged.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Marine Biology, College of Resources and Environmental Sciences, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, 210095, People’s Republic of China

    Zeying Wu, Jiali Yan, Qian Yue & Ying Ge

  2. Demonstration Laboratory of Elements and Life Science Research, Laboratory Centre of Life Science, College of Life Science, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, 210095, People’s Republic of China

    Chunhua Zhang

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  1. Zeying Wu
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Correspondence to Ying Ge.

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Wu, Z., Zhang, C., Yan, J. et al. Effects of sulfur supply and hydrogen peroxide pretreatment on the responses by rice under cadmium stress. Plant Growth Regul 77, 299–306 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10725-015-0064-8

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