title: Mechanistic study of programmed cell death of root border cells of cucumber (Cucumber sativus L.) induced by copper.
abstract: Programmed cell death (PCD) in root border cells (RBCs) induced by Copper (Cu) has been little studied. This study explored whether Cu induced PCD in RBCs of cucumber or not and investigated the possible mechanisms. The results showed that the percentage of apoptotic and necrotic RBCs increased with increasing concentration of Cu treatment. A quick burst of ROS in RBCs was detected, while mitochondrial membrane potential (ΔΨm) decreased sharply with Cu treatment. Caspase-3 like protease activity showed a tendency of increase with Cu treatment. The potential of Cu to induce PCD in RBCs of cucumber was first proved. Our results showed that ROS generation and mitochondrial membrane potential loss played important roles in Cu-induced caspase-3-like activation and PCD in RBCs of cucumber, which provided new insight into the signaling cascades that modulate Cu phytotoxicity mechanism.
authors.affiliation: Department of Environmental Engineering, College of Environmental and Resource Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China.
authors.forename: Lijuan
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Sun
authors.affiliation: Department of Environmental Engineering, College of Environmental and Resource Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China.
authors.forename: Jie
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Song
authors.affiliation: Department of Environmental Engineering, College of Environmental and Resource Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China.
authors.forename: Cheng
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Peng
authors.affiliation: Department of Environmental Engineering, College of Environmental and Resource Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China.
authors.forename: Chen
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.affiliation: College of Life Science, Zhejiang Chinese Medical University, Hangzhou 310053, China. Electronic address: sjyxf.ok@163.com.
authors.forename: Xiaofeng
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Yuan
authors.affiliation: Department of Environmental Engineering, College of Environmental and Resource Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China. Electronic address: shijiyan@zju.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Jiyan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Shi
mesh_terms: D017209:Apoptosis / Q000187:drug effects*; D053148:Caspase 3 / Q000378:metabolism; D048430:Cell Shape / Q000187:drug effects; D002470:Cell Survival / Q000187:drug effects; D003300:Copper / Q000494:pharmacology*; D018553:Cucumis sativus / Q000166:cytology* / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism; D004789:Enzyme Activation / Q000187:drug effects; D042541:Intracellular Space / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism; D053078:Membrane Potential, Mitochondrial / Q000187:drug effects; D018517:Plant Roots / Q000166:cytology* / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism; D017382:Reactive Oxygen Species / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D017382:Reactive Oxygen Species; D003300:Copper; D053148:Caspase 3
keywords: Copper (Cu); Cucumber (Cucumber sativus L.); Programmed cell death (PCD); Root border cells (RBCs)