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Physiological responses of Toxicodendron vernicifluum (Stokes) F.A. Barkley to cadmium stress under sufficient- and deficient-nitrogen conditions

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Abstract

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Nitrogen application mitigated the inhibiting effects of Cd stress on T. vernicifluum by increasing enzymatic antioxidants and phytohormone.

Abstract

To disclose the potential roles of nitrogen (N) availability in adaptive responses of Toxicodendron vernicifluum (Stokes) F.A. Barkley to Cd stress, a greenhouse experiment was conducted. A factorial design consisting of sufficient N and deficient N was combined with moderate Cd stress condition. Major growth traits and photosynthesis were significantly suppressed by Cd stress under deficient-N condition, whereas N application mitigated the inhibiting effects of Cd stress. The ABA inducement and stoma adjustment upon Cd stress were more significant under sufficient-N status, which contributed to the higher tolerance to Cd stress. IAA level was depressed by Cd stress when N nutrient is deficient, leading to the significant suppression on growth, whereas the depression on IAA was alleviated by N addition, which contributed to better growth performance under Cd stress. Enzymatic antioxidants play a vital role in response to Cd stress. The activities of SOD, APX and GR in leaves, and POD, APX, GR and CAT in roots all were significantly induced upon Cd stress under sufficient-N condition. Moreover, the expression of most genes encoding antioxidant enzymes was significantly induced upon Cd stress when N nutrient was adequate. In contrast, the activities of most antioxidant enzymes and the expression of most genes encoding these enzymes were not significantly induced upon Cd stress under deficient-N conditions. These results indicated that adequate N nutrient improves the tolerance of T. vernicifluum to Cd stress via promoting hormone signaling and antioxidant systems.

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Acknowledgements

This project was financially supported by the Start-up Project for Introduced Recruit in Northwest A&F University (no. Z111021402), the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (no. 2452016056), the Science and technology project of Shaanxi Province (2016NY-193).

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  1. Thi Tuyet Xuan Bui and Mei Lu are co-first author.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Forestry, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, 712100, Shaanxi, People’s Republic of China

    Thi Tuyet Xuan Bui, Mei Lu, Dinh Duy Vu, Hien Ngoc Dinh, Siddiq Ur Rahman, Xiao Hua Huang & Yi Zhang

  2. Institute of Ecology and Biological Resource, Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology (VAST), No. 18 Hoang Quoc Viet, Caugiay, Hanoi, Vietnam

    Thi Tuyet Xuan Bui

  3. Vietnam National Museum of Nature, VAST, No. 18 Hoang Quoc Viet, Caugiay, Hanoi, Vietnam

    Dinh Duy Vu

  4. Department of Human Nutrition, The University of Agriculture Peshawar, Peshawar, 25000, Pakistan

    Niamat Ullah

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  1. Thi Tuyet Xuan Bui
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Communicated by V. Resco de Dios.

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Bui, T.T.X., Lu, M., Vu, D.D. et al. Physiological responses of Toxicodendron vernicifluum (Stokes) F.A. Barkley to cadmium stress under sufficient- and deficient-nitrogen conditions. Trees 32, 1457–1471 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00468-018-1727-7

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