title: [Effects of stress duration and non-toxic ions on heavy metals toxicity to Arabidopsis seed germination and seedling growth].
abstract: The study on the toxicity of heavy metals Hg2+, Cd+, Cu2+ and Pb2+ to Arabidopsis se d germination and seedling growth showed that the test heavy metals had a stronger toxicity on seedling growth than on seed germination. The toxicity on seedlings was in order of Cu2+ > Hg2+ > Cd2+ /Pb2+, while on seeds was Hg2+ > Cd2+ > Pb2+/Cu2+. Seed germination rate was decreased with increasing stress duration, and different heavy metals showed different toxicity at different stress duration. For example, Hg2+ displayed a stronger toxicity at 12 - 24 h stress, while Cd2+ was at 0 - 12 h stress. It seemed that seed coat played an important role in seed tolerance to heavy metals. The interaction between non-toxic ions and heavy metal ions on seed germination showed that Ca2+, Mg2+, K+ and Na+ at 5 mmol x L(-1) could enhance the toxicity of Hg2+, but did not affect Cd2+ toxicity. For seedling growth, Ca2+, Mg2+, K+ and Na+ might enhance the toxicity of Hg2+, Ca2+ might alleviate the toxicity of Cd2+ but enhance the toxicity of Cu2+ , and K+ might alleviate Pb2+ toxicity. The mechanism of heavy metals injury was discussed in the paper.
authors.affiliation: Shijiazhuang Institute of Agricultural Modernization, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shijiazhuang, China. wqli@ms.sjziam.ac.cn
authors.forename: Weiqiang
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Renzhao
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Mao
authors.forename: Xiaojing
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Liu
mesh_terms: D017360:Arabidopsis / Q000254:growth & development*; D002104:Cadmium / Q000633:toxicity; D002118:Calcium / Q000494:pharmacology; D003300:Copper / Q000633:toxicity; D018525:Germination / Q000187:drug effects*; D008274:Magnesium / Q000494:pharmacology; D008628:Mercury / Q000633:toxicity; D019216:Metals, Heavy / Q000633:toxicity*; D036226:Seedlings / Q000187:drug effects*; D012639:Seeds / Q000254:growth & development
chemical_list: D019216:Metals, Heavy; D002104:Cadmium; D003300:Copper; D008628:Mercury; D008274:Magnesium; D002118:Calcium