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. 2022 Mar;29(3):1322-1336.
doi: 10.1016/j.sjbs.2021.12.013. Epub 2021 Dec 11.

Ascorbate glutathione antioxidant system alleviates fly ash stress by modulating growth physiology and biochemical responses in Solanum lycopersicum

Sami Ullah Qadir  1 , Vaseem Raja  2 , Weqar A Siddiqui  3 , Tariq Shah  4 , Saleh Alansi  5 , Mohamed A El-Sheikh  5
Affiliations

Ascorbate glutathione antioxidant system alleviates fly ash stress by modulating growth physiology and biochemical responses in Solanum lycopersicum

Sami Ullah Qadir et al. Saudi J Biol Sci. 2022 Mar.

Abstract

Tomato plants (Solanum lycopersicum L.) were developed in soils with different fly ash (FA) amendments (25, 50, 75, 100% FA) to measure the effects of FA on metal accumulation, chlorophyll pigments, chlorophyll fluorescence, growth, biomass, gas exchange parameters, and the ascorbate glutathione pathway (AsA-GSH). The metal concentration was much higher in FA compared to the garden soil/(control). The observed metal translocation was higher in roots than shoots. Plants raised in soils treated with 50% or more FA showed significant decreases in growth, biomass, gas exchange parameters, protein, chlorophyll pigments, and fluorescence parameters. Additionally, a significant increase in antioxidants under higher FA-amended soils were observed. Our results showed that the ability of Solanum lycopersicum plants to effectively synchronize the actions of antioxidant enzymes associated in reactive oxygen species (ROS) scavenging - notably superoxidase dismutase (SOD), ascorbate peroxidase (APX), and glutathione reductase (GR) - with good maintenance of the AsA/DHA ratio, that could be connected to FA stress tolerance. The toxic metals present in FA caused oxidative stress in Solanum lycopersicum, as evident from the increase in electrolyte leakage (EL), lipid peroxidation (MDA), and ROS levels. Furthermore, the AsA-GSH cycle plays a key role in alleviating oxidative damage caused by FA application.

Keywords: Fly ash; Heavy metal; Oxidative stress; Reactive Oxygen Species; Solanum lycopersicum; Stress tolerance.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Effect of different (FA) amendments on the accumulation of (A) Zn (µg g−1 DW), (B) Cu (µg g−1 DW), (C) Cr (µg g−1 DW) and (D) Cd (µg g−1 DW), in roots and shoots. Data represent the mean ± SD (n = 25 in each case). letters are statistically significant at P < 0.05.
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Effect of different FA amended soils on (A) Chl. a (B) Chl. b, (C) total Chl. and (D) carotenoids (E) photosynthetic rate (Pn), (F) transpiration rate (E), (G) stomatal conductance (gs), (H) CO2 assimilation rate (A), and (I) SPAD index in tomato leaves. Data represent the mean ± SD (n = 25 in each case). Different letters denote statistical significance at P < 0.05.
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Effect of different FA amended soils on (A&B) ROS generation, (C) EL and (D) MDA content, (E,F,G) activity of APX, DHAR, and MDHAR, and (H&I) activity of SOD and GR respectively in tomato leaves. Data represent the mean ± SD (n = 25 in each case). Letters indicate statistical significance at P < 0.05.
Fig. 4
Fig. 4
Effect of different FA amended soils on (A) Protein (B) proline content in tomato leaves. Data signifies the mean ± SD (n = 25 in each case). Letters denote statistical significance at P < 0.05.
Fig. 5
Fig. 5
Effect of different FA amended soils on AsA-GSH pool (A) tASA, (B) AsA, (C) DHA, (D)AsA/DHA (E) tGSH (F) GSH, (G) GSSG and (H) GSH/GSSG ratio in tomato plants. Data represent the mean ± SD (n = 25 in each case). Different letters represent statistical significance at P < 0.05.
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