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. 2012;13(6):6604-6619.
doi: 10.3390/ijms13066604. Epub 2012 May 29.

Effect of calcium and potassium on antioxidant system of Vicia faba L. Under cadmium stress

Manzer H Siddiqui  1 , Mohamed H Al-Whaibi  1 , Ahmed M Sakran  1 , Mohammed O Basalah  1 , Hayssam M Ali  1
Affiliations

Effect of calcium and potassium on antioxidant system of Vicia faba L. Under cadmium stress

Manzer H Siddiqui et al. Int J Mol Sci. 2012.

Abstract

Cadmium (Cd) in soil poses a major threat to plant growth and productivity. In the present experiment, we studied the effect of calcium (Ca(2+)) and/or potassium (K(+)) on the antioxidant system, accumulation of proline (Pro), malondialdehyde (MDA), and content of photosynthetic pigments, cadmium (Cd) and nutrients, i.e., Ca(2+) and K(+) in leaf of Vicia faba L. (cv. TARA) under Cd stress. Plants grown in the presence of Cd exhibited reduced growth traits [root length (RL) plant(-1), shoot length (SL) plant(-1), root fresh weight (RFW) plant(-1), shoot fresh weight (SFW) plant(-1), root dry weight (RDW) plant(-1) and shoot dry weight (SDW) plant(-1)] and concentration of Ca(2+), K(+), Chlorophyll (Chl) a and Chl b content, except content of MDA, Cd and (Pro). The antioxidant enzymes [peroxidase (POD) and superoxide dismutase (SOD)] slightly increased as compared to control under Cd stress. However, a significant improvement was observed in all growth traits and content of Ca(2+), K(+), Chl a, Chl b, Pro and activity of antioxidant enzymes catalase (CAT), POD and SOD in plants subjected to Ca(2+) and/or K(+). The maximum alleviating effect was recorded in the plants grown in medium containing Ca(2+) and K(+) together. This study indicates that the application of Ca(2+) and/or K(+) had a significant and synergistic effect on plant growth. Also, application of Ca(2+) and/or K(+) was highly effective against the toxicity of Cd by improving activity of antioxidant enzymes and solute that led to the enhanced plant growth of faba bean plants.

Keywords: antioxidant; faba bean; heavy metal; nutrient content; photosynthetic pigments.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Ameliorating effect of calcium and potassium on shoot and root length (A), shoot fresh weight (FW) and root FW (B), shoot dry weight (DW) and root DW (C) and Chl a and Chl b (D) of faba bean plants under Cd stress. Bars followed by the same letters show no statistical difference at p < 0.05 (Duncan Multiple Range Test). Average of four determinations are presented with bars indicating SE.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Ameliorating effect of calcium and potassium on MDA content (A), Cd content (B), Ca2+ and K+ content (C) and Pro content (D) of faba bean plants under Cd stress. Bars followed by the same letters show no statistical difference at p < 0.05 (Duncan Multiple Range Test). Average of four determinations are presented with bars indicating SE.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Ameliorating effect of calcium and potassium on the activity of (A) antioxidant enzymes catalase (CAT) and peroxidase (POD) and (B) superoxide dismutase (SOD) of faba bean plants under Cd stress. Bars followed by the same letters show no statistical difference at P<0.05 (Duncan Multiple Range Test). Average of four determinations are presented with bars indicating SE.
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