Mineral nutrient imbalance, DNA lesion and DNA-protein crosslink involved in growth retardation of Vicia faba L. seedlings exposed to lanthanum ions.

Effects of mineral nutrient imbalance, DNA lesion and DNA-protein crosslink on growth of Vicia faba L. seedlings hydroponically cultivated in concentrations of extraneous lanthanum (La) for 20 days were investigated in the present experiment. The results showed that contents of La, Cu or K elements in roots generally changed synchronously with those in leaves, while Ca, Fe, Zn, Mg, Mn or P in the roots altered inversely to those in the leaves. Thus, the extraneous La led to redistribution and imbalance of mineral nutrient elements in the roots and leaves. DNA lesion and DNA-protein crosslink were investigated by single cell gel electrophoresis (SCGE) and sodium dodecyl sulfate/potassium (SDS/K+) precipitation methods, respectively. The results demonstrated that the increasing La induced DNA break and DNA-protein crosslinks (DPCs) in the seedlings. These results suggested that mineral nutrient imbalance, DNA lesion and DNA-protein crosslink were involved in the growth retardation and growth alteration of the seedlings, which may help to understand the mechanisms of rare earth elements (REEs) on plant growth.

Lanthanum resulted in unbalance of nutrient elements and disturbance of cell proliferation cycles in V. faba L. seedlings.

Effects of lanthanum (La) on mineral nutrients, cell cycles, and root lengthening have been little reported. The present work investigated these physiological responses in roots of Vicia faba seedlings cultivated in La3+-contained solutions for 15 days. The results showed that the increasing contents of La in the roots and leaves contributed to disbalances of contents of Ca, Fe, Cu, Zn, Mg, Mn, P, and K elements, and potential redistributions of some elements in the roots and leaves. These disbalances might be involved in the subsequent alteration of cell cycle phases in the root tips. Low-dose promotion and high-dose inhibition (Hormetic effects) were demonstrated as the dose responses of G0/G1-, S- or G2/M-phase ratios. The cell cycles were most probably arrested at G1/S interphase by La3+ in the root tips. The fact that the root lengths were not consistent with the changes of cell cycle phases suggested that the cell proliferation activities might be masked by other factors (e.g., cell expansion) under long-time exposure to La3+.