Thymol Mitigates Cadmium Stress by Regulating Glutathione Levels and Reactive Oxygen Species Homeostasis in Tobacco Seedlings.
Molecules
; 21(10)2016 Oct 14.
Article
de En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-27754435
ABSTRACT
Thymol is a famous plant-derived compound that has been widely used in pharmacy due to its antioxidant and antimicrobial properties. However, the modulation of intrinsic plant physiology by thymol remains unclear. It is a significant challenge to confer plant tolerance to Cd (cadmium) stress. In the present study physiological, histochemical, and biochemical methods were applied to investigate thymol-induced Cd tolerance in tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum) seedlings. Thymol was able to alleviate Cd-induced growth inhibition of tobacco seedlings in both dose- and time-dependent manners. Both histochemical detection and in-tube assays suggested that thymol treatment blocked Cd-induced over-generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS), lipid peroxidation, and loss of membrane integrity in both leaves and roots. Thymol decreased Cd-induced cell death that was indicated in vivo by propidium iodide (PI) and trypan blue, respectively. Thymol stimulated glutathione (GSH) biosynthesis by upregulating the expression of γ-glutamylcysteine synthetase 1 (GSH1) in Cd-treated seedlings, which may contribute to the alleviation of Cd-induced oxidative injury. In situ fluorescent detection of intracellular Cd2+ revealed that thymol significantly decreased free Cd2+ in roots, which could be explained by the thymol-stimulated GSH biosynthesis and upregulation of the expression of phyochelatin synthase 1 (PCS1). Taken together, these results suggested that thymol has great potential to trigger plant resistant responses to combat heavy metal toxicity, which may help our understanding of the mechanism for thymol-modulated cell metabolic pathways in response to environmental stimuli.
Mots clés
Texte intégral:
1
Collection:
01-internacional
Base de données:
MEDLINE
Sujet principal:
Thymol
/
Nicotiana
/
Cadmium
/
Espèces réactives de l'oxygène
/
Plant
/
Glutathion
Langue:
En
Journal:
Molecules
Sujet du journal:
BIOLOGIA
Année:
2016
Type de document:
Article
Pays d'affiliation:
Chine