title: Influence of sulfur and cadmium on antioxidants, phytochelatins and growth in Indian mustard.
abstract: Soils in many parts of the world are contaminated with heavy metals, leading to multiple, deleterious effects on plants and threats to world food production efficiency. Cadmium (Cd) is one such metal, being toxic at relatively low concentrations as it is readily absorbed and translocated in plants. Sulfur-rich compounds are critical to the impact of Cd toxicity, enabling plants to increase their cellular defence and/or sequester Cd into vacuoles mediated by phytochelatins (PCs). The influence of sulfur on Cd-induced stress was studied in the hyperaccumulator plant Indian mustard (Brassica juncea) using two sulfur concentrations (+S, 300 µM [Formula: see text] and S-deficient -S, [Formula: see text]) with and without the addition of Cd (100 µM CdCl2) at two different time intervals (7 and 14 days after treatment). Compared with control plants (+S/-Cd), levels of oxidative stress were higher in S-deficient (-S/-Cd) plants, and greatest in S-deficient Cd-treated (-S/+Cd) plants. However, additional S (+S/+Cd) helped plants cope with oxidative stress. Superoxide dismutase emerged as a key player against Cd stress under both -S and +S conditions. The activity of ascorbate peroxidase, glutathione reductase and catalase declined in Cd-treated and S-deficient plants, but was up-regulated in the presence of sulfur. Sulfur deficiency mediated a decrease in ascorbate and glutathione (GSH) content but changes in ascorbate (reduced : oxidized) and GSH (reduced : oxidized) ratios were alleviated by sulfur. Our data clearly indicate that a sulfur pool is needed for synthesis of GSH, non-protein thiols and PCs and is also important for growth. Sulfur-based defence mechanisms and the cellular antioxidant pathway, which are critical for tolerance and growth, collapsed as a result of a decline in the sulfur pool.
authors.affiliation: Proteomics and Bioinformatics Lab, Department of Biotechnology, Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi 110025, India.
authors.forename: Humayra
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Bashir
authors.affiliation: Department of Botany and Microbiology, Science College, King Saud University, PO Box 2455, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia Department of Botany and Microbiology, Faculty of Science, Alexandria University, PO Box 21511, Alexandria, Egypt.
authors.forename: Mohamed M
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Ibrahim
authors.affiliation: Proteomics and Bioinformatics Lab, Department of Biotechnology, Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi 110025, India.
authors.forename: Rita
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Bagheri
authors.affiliation: Proteomics and Bioinformatics Lab, Department of Biotechnology, Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi 110025, India.
authors.forename: Javed
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Ahmad
authors.affiliation: Department of Botany and Microbiology, Science College, King Saud University, PO Box 2455, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia Department of Botany and Microbiology, Faculty of Science, Alexandria University, PO Box 21511, Alexandria, Egypt.
authors.forename: Ibrahim A
authors.initials: IA
authors.lastname: Arif
authors.affiliation: Proteomics and Bioinformatics Lab, Department of Biotechnology, Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi 110025, India.
authors.forename: M Affan
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Baig
authors.affiliation: Proteomics and Bioinformatics Lab, Department of Biotechnology, Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi 110025, India mirfanq@gmail.com miqureshi@jmi.ac.in.
authors.forename: M Irfan
authors.initials: MI
authors.lastname: Qureshi
keywords: Antioxidants; cadmium; growth; oxidative stress; phytochelatins; sulfur