Subcellular distribution and tolerance of cadmium in Canna indica L.

Canna indica L. is a promising species for heavy metal phytoremediation due to its fast growth rate and large biomass. However, few studies have investigated cadmium (Cd) tolerance mechanisms. In the present study, Canna plants were cultivated under hydroponic conditions with increasing Cd concentrations (0, 5, 10, 15 mg/L). We found that the plants performed well under 5 mg/L Cd2+ stress, but damage was observed under higher Cd exposure, such as leaf chlorosis, growth inhibition, a decreased chlorophyll content, and destruction of the ultrastructure of leaf cells. Additionally, Canna alleviated Cd toxicity to a certain extent. After Canna was exposed to 5, 10 and 15 mg/L Cd2+ for 45 d, the highest Cd concentration was exhibited in roots, which was almost 17-47 times the Cd concentration in leaves and 8-20 times that in stems. At the subcellular level, cellular debris and heat-stable proteins (HSPs) were the main binding sites for Cd, and the proportion of Cd in the two subcellular fractions accounted for 71.4-94.2% of the total Cd. Furthermore, we found that granules could participate in the detoxification process when Cd stress was enhanced. Our results indicated that Canna indica L. can tolerate Cd toxicity by sequestering heavy metals in root tissues, fencing out by cell wall, and binding with biologically detoxified fractions (granules and HSPs).

The inhibition and adaptability of four wetland plant species to high concentration of ammonia wastewater and nitrogen removal efficiency in constructed wetlands.

Four plant species, Typha orientalis, Scirpus validus, Canna indica and Iris tectorum were selected to assess their physiological response and effects on nitrogen and COD removal to high total ammoniacal nitrogen (TAN) in constructed wetlands. Results showed that high TAN caused decreased relative growth rate, net photosynthetic rate, and leaf transpiration. C. indica and T. orientalis showed higher TAN adaptability than S. validus and I. tectorum. Below TAN of 200 mg L(-1), growth of C. indica and T. orientalis was less affected or even stimulated at TAN range 100-200 mg L(-1). However, S. validus and I. tectorum was obviously suppressed when TAN was above 100 mg L(-1). High TAN generated obvious oxidative stress showing increased proline and malondialdehyde contents, and superoxide dismutase was inhibited. It indicated that the threshold for plant self-bioremediation against high TAN was 200 mg L(-1). What's more, planted CWs showed higher nitrogen and COD removal. Removal rate of C. indica and T. orientalis was higher than S. validus and I. tectorum.

The Potential of Canna lily for Wastewater Treatment Under Indian Conditions.

Low cost treatment of polluted wastewater has become a serious challenge in most of the urban areas of developing countries. The present study was undertaken to investigate the potential of Canna lily towards removal of carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus from wastewater under sub-tropical conditions. A constructed wetland (CW) cell supporting vegetative layer of Canna lily was used to treat wastewater having high strength of CNP. Removal of biological oxygen demand (BOD3) and chemical oxygen demand (COD) varied between 69.8-96.4% and 63.6-99.1%, respectively. C. lily could efficiently remove carbon from a difficult to degrade wastewater at COD:BOD ratio of 24.4. Simultaneous reduction in TKN and nitrate pointed to good nitrification rates, and efficient plant assimilation as the dominant nutrient removal mechanism in the present study. Suitable Indian agro-climatic conditions favored plant growth and no evident stress over the Canna plant was observed. High removal rate of 809.8 mg/m(2)-day for TKN, 15.0 mg/m(2)-day for nitrate, and 164.2 mg/m(2)-day for phosphate suggests for a possible use of Canna-based CW for wastewater treatment for small, rural, and remote Indian communities.

Inhibition of beta-amylase activity, starch degradation and sucrose formation by indole-3-acetic acid during banana ripening.

In order to observe the effect of indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) on carbohydrate metabolism, unripe banana (Musa acuminata AAA, cv. Nanicão) slices were infiltrated with the hormone and left to ripen under controlled conditions. The climacteric respiration burst was reduced by the action of IAA, and starch degradation and sucrose formation were delayed. Sucrose synthase (SuSy; EC 2.4.1.13) and sucrose-phosphate synthase (SPS; EC 2.4.1.14) activities and transcript levels were not affected, indicating that prevention of sucrose accumulation was not related to sucrose-metabolizing enzymes. Impairment of sucrose synthesis could be a consequence of lack of substrate, since starch degradation was inhibited. The increase in activity and transcript level of beta-amylase was delayed, indicating that this enzyme could be important in starch-to-sucrose metabolism in bananas and that it might be, at least partially, controlled at the transcriptional level. This is the first report showing that IAA can delay starch degradation, possibly affecting the activity of hydrolytic enzymes such as beta-amylase (EC 3.2.1.2).

A UV-light activated cinnamic acid isomer regulates plant growth and gravitropism via an ethylene receptor-independent pathway.

Naturally occurring cinnamic acids (CA) exist in both trans- and cis-isoforms. UV-light irradiation of trans-CA is able to produce cis-CA. cis-CA was found to possess auxin-like activity before. In contrast, the vapor of cis-CA induced an epinastic response in tomato plants just as ethylene does. Given the existence of a double bond in and the gaseous nature of cis-CA, we suspected that cis-CA might also function as an ethylene-like compound. To distinguish between these possibilities, we selected an ethylene perception-deficient tomato plant, Never-ripe (Nr), and an ethylene biosynthesis-deficient tomato plant, A11. Not only did the vapor of cis-CA fail to trigger A11 tomato fruit ripening but it also delayed the ripening of banana fruit. Moreover, the vapor of cis-CA induced epinasty and the 'triple response' in both the wild type and Nr tomato plants, indicating that the vapor of cis-CA does not act via an ethylene receptor-dependent pathway. Furthermore, the vapor of cis-CA inhibited the negative gravitropic response of stems of both etiolated Nr seedlings and young plants, whereas ethylene had little effect on the negative gravitropism of the Nr plants. These results support the conclusion that the action sites of the vapor of cis-CA and ethylene are fundamentally different.

Differential gene expression in ripening banana fruit.

During banana (Musa acuminata L.) fruit ripening ethylene production triggers a developmental cascade that is accompanied by a massive conversion of starch to sugars, an associated burst of respiratory activity, and an increase in protein synthesis. Differential screening of cDNA libraries representing banana pulp at ripening stages 1 and 3 has led to the isolation of 11 nonredundant groups of differentially expressed mRNAs. Identification of these transcripts by partial sequence analysis indicates that two of the mRNAs encode proteins involved in carbohydrate metabolism, whereas others encode proteins thought to be associated with pathogenesis, senescence, or stress responses in plants. Their relative abundance in the pulp and tissue-specific distribution in greenhouse-grown banana plants were determined by northern-blot analyses. The relative abundance of transcripts encoding starch synthase, granule-bound starch synthase, chitinase, lectin, and a type-2 metallothionein decreased in pulp during ripening. Transcripts encoding endochitinase, beta-1,3-glucanase, a thaumatin-like protein, ascorbate peroxidase, metallothionein, and a putative senescence-related protein increased early in ripening. The elucidation of the molecular events associated with banana ripening will facilitate a better understanding and control of these processes, and will allow us to attain our long-term goal of producing candidate oral vaccines in transgenic banana plants.

Multiplication of Musa from excised stem tips.

Rapidly multiplying cultures were established from excised shoot tips of two dessert banana clones ('Philippine Lacatan' and 'Grande Naine') and two plantain clones ('Pelipita' and 'Saba'). Apices cultured on semi-solid media produced single shoots while apices placed in liquid media produced shoot clusters. Individual shoots were induced to form multiple shoot clusters by longitudinally splitting the shoot through the apex. Shoot multiplication was stimulated maximally by 5 mg l-1 benzylaminopurine. Rooted plants were produced by treating shoots with auxins. Growth rates based on increase in f. wt of the four clones were compared. During a 4-week culture period 'Pelipita' showed a fivefold increase in f. wt while 'Grande Naine', 'Philippine Lacatan' and 'Saba' showed increases exceeding tenfold.