Mitigation of lead toxicity in Brassica juncea L. by sulphur application – Via various biochemical and transcriptomic strategies
Hemanthkumar Manne, Nisha Kumari, Shikha Yashveer, Sonia Nain, Jyoti Duhan, Ram Avtar, N.A. Sushil, Minakshi Jattan, Babita Rani, Abdulaziz Abdullah Alsahli, Sajid Ali
Abstract
The present study was designed to elucidate whether exogenously applied sulphur (S) (S1; 100 ppm, S2; 200 ppm S) alleviate lead (Pb)-induced (Pb1; 100 ppm, Pb2; 200 ppm and Pb3; 300 ppm Pb) stress in the leaves of Brassica juncea. To study this effect, oxidative stress biomarkers (hydrogen peroxide and malondialdehyde), enzymatic antioxidants (ascorbate peroxidase (APX), glutathione reductase (GR)), non-enzymatic antioxidants (chlorophyll and carotenoids) and S-metabolic enzymes like adenosine triphosphate sulfurylase (ATPS), O-acetylserine(thiol)lyase (OASTL) were studied. Pb treatment dramatically inhibited plant development by increasing lipid peroxidation and hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) accumulation by 34.82 and 238.89 % respectively at 90 days plant. The overproduced oxidative biomarkers alter plant cell homeostasis. In contrast, APX (25.56 %) and GR (32.45 %) activities, chlorophyll (15.51 %) and carotenoids (30 %) contents increased under similar Pb treatments and regulated ROS-antioxidant balance. Exogenous S application, maintained the redox status of cell by further increasing the enzymatic activities. Pb treatment increased S assimilation in Brassica by elevating enzyme activities of ATPS and OASTL, which was further augmented by S supplementation to Pb-stressed plants. Besides gene expression of BjSULT, BjOASTL and BjGR1 exhibited slight increase under Pb stress, S application to the stressed plants doubled the expression and assisted the stress resistance. Overall, our findings demonstrate that S protect Pb-stressed Brassica seedlings, implying that S could be an ideal choice for reducing Pb toxicity in crops.