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.

Biphasic effects of lanthanum on Vicia faba L. seedlings under cadmium stress, implicating finite antioxidation and potential ecological risk.

In the present study, lanthanum (La) as a representative REE was used to explore the mechanisms for alleviation of Cd-induced oxidative damage by extraneous La at appropriate concentrations, and to assess ecological risk of combination of Cd and La at higher concentrations in roots of Vicia faba L. seedlings. The seedlings were hydroponically cultured for 15 d under nutrient solution, 6 µmol L(-1) CdCl(2), and combination of 6 µmol L(-1) CdCl(2) and increasing concentrations of La, respectively. The results showed that the supplementation with low concentrations of exogenous La (<120 µmol L(-1)) led to reduced contents of Cd, Ca, Cu, Zn, Mn or Fe element and increased activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), guaiacol peroxidase (GPX) and ascorbate peroxidase (APX) isozymes as well as heat shock protein 70 (HSP 70) production in the roots. However, the supplementation with higher La (>120 µmol L(-1)) showed the adverse effects. The contents of Cd elevated above the single Cd treatment in the roots, accompanying with the decline of antioxidant isozyme's activities and HSP 70, and increment of carbonylated proteins and endoprotease isozyme's activities. The results also showed that the root growth was not only related to carbonylated proteins, but also to indole acetic acid oxidase activities. Therefore, the supplemented extraneous La contributed to biphasic effects: stimulated antioxidation at lower concentrations and pro-oxidation at higher concentrations against Cd-induced oxidative stress in the roots.