Once absorbed by plants, trace elements, such as cadmium, are transported and bioaccumulated in organs and tissues, including seeds. The germination and seedling establishment are sensitive points in plant development and can be impacted by external environmental conditions. However, plants can transmit information to ensure better acclimation of their offspring to conditions similar to those experienced by the parental generation. The aim of this work was to understand the mechanisms of which seeds from four different origins acclimate in adverse environments similar to those in which the mother plant was grown. The experiment was performed with 4 seed origins with distinct accumulation of cadmium (Cd) and manganese (Mn) and 3 conditions (regarding presence or absence of cadmium and manganese) in seeds and seedlings. Seeds were characterized by their germination, and biochemical analyses such as hydrogen peroxide, lipid peroxidation, soluble and reducing sugars, proteins, amino acids and proline, and antioxidant enzymes activity in seeds collected 8 and 24 h of imbibition. Then, seeds were grown in soil for 25 days and sampling for biochemical analyses, cadmium and manganese quantification, chlorophyll a fluorescence and biomass determination. Seeds with higher levels of cadmium performed better in conditions with cadmium through an apparent acclimation mechanism that involved enhanced enzymatic antioxidant system activity and differential soluble and reducing sugar utilization. The effects mainly differed between seeds of the ‘5 Cd’ and ‘5Cd400Mn’ origins, which was also observed in the seedlings. The effects of cadmium and manganese appeared to be specific to the plant origin, causing mainly a reduction in photochemical efficiency, altered electron flux and oxidative stress generation, with plants of different origins also displaying differential mechanisms to cope with the stressful conditions.

中文翻译：

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揭示用镉和锰培育的向日葵植物的后代如何应对与其父母相似的环境条件

一旦被植物吸收，镉等微量元素就会被运输并在器官和组织（包括种子）中生物富集。发芽和幼苗的建立是植物发育的敏感点，可能受到外部环境条件的影响。然而，植物可以传递信息，以确保其后代更好地适应与亲代经历的条件相似的条件。这项工作的目的是了解四种不同来源的种子在与母株生长相似的不利环境中适应的机制。该实验针对种子和幼苗中镉 (Cd) 和锰 (Mn) 积累明显不同的 4 个种子来源以及 3 个条件（关于是否存在镉和锰）进行。通过发芽来表征种子，并对吸胀 8 小时和 24 小时收集的种子进行生化分析，例如过氧化氢、脂质过氧化、可溶性糖和还原糖、蛋白质、氨基酸和脯氨酸以及抗氧化酶活性。然后，种子在土壤中生长 25 天，并取样进行生化分析、镉和锰定量、叶绿素 a 荧光和生物量测定。镉含量较高的种子通过明显的适应机制在镉条件下表现更好，该机制涉及增强的酶抗氧化系统活性以及差异可溶性和还原糖的利用。效果主要在“5 Cd”和“5Cd400Mn”来源的种子之间有所不同，这也在幼苗中观察到。镉和锰的影响似乎是植物来源特有的，主要导致光化学效率降低、电子通量改变和氧化应激产生，不同来源的植物也表现出不同的应对应激条件的机制。