PJB-2018-1616
Copper-induced similar changes in growth and physiological responses of plants grown from dimorphic seeds of Suaeda salsa
Li Jiang, Lei Wang, Ke Zhang and Changyan Tian
Abstract
There are few studies related to the responses of plants grown from heteromorphic seeds to heavy metals. Therefore we tested the hypothesis that plants grown from dimorphic seeds of the halophyte Suaeda salsa have high copper (Cu) tolerance but differ in physiological and growth responses. We examined the effect of Cu on plant growth, copper accumulation, chlorophyll content and other mineral elements of both types of plants via a pot experiment. The results demonstrated that, although dry weight, chlorophyll content and most of the mineral elements were significantly influenced by Cu, there were no significant differences in tolerance responses and copper accumulation between plants from dimorphic seeds. Dry weight and tolerance index did not significantly decrease until ≥ 800 mg kg-1 Cu. With increasing the content of Cu, chlorophyll content increased and then decreased. Roots accumulated higher levels of Cu than shoots. The bioconcentration and translocation factors were <1.0 under all Cu addition treatments. Our study is the first report of ecophysiological responses of plants grown from heteromorphic seeds to a heavy metal and suggests that both types of S. salsa plants are considered as Cu-tolerant halophyte and exhibit similar response to Cu.
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