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Understanding photosynthetic and metabolic adjustments in iron hyperaccumulators grass

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Abstract

Setaria parviflora and Paspalum urvillei are iron hyperaccumulating species. In order to understand how they are iron resistant, this study evaluated the adjustments in photosynthetic apparatus, metabolic pathways, and antioxidant response after exposure to iron excess. Two assays were carried out with different purposes. S. parviflora and P. urvillei were grown in Hoagland & Arnon nutrient solution containing 0.009, 1, 2, 4 and 7 mM Fe-EDTA to evaluate which Fe concentration causes accumulation of this element above the toxicity threshold. In addition, leaf samples were collected from plants growing in 0.009 and 7 mM iron-EDTA solution on the 6°, 10°, 14° and 18° day of growth in order to evaluate the adjustments in terms of primary metabolite concentrations and the antioxidant capacity. Only the 7 mM iron-EDTA treatment caused a toxic iron accumulation in the shoot of both species. P. urvillei had decreased photosynthetic rate only upon exposure to 7 mM iron-EDTA, in addition, adjustments in the electron transport rate through photosystem II and oxidation state of quinones were observed. Meanwhile, S. parviflora presented a gradual reduction in photosynthetic rate, although with higher non-photochemical quenching of fluorescence values. P. urvillei showed inhibition of tricarboxylic acid cycle. Based on the activity of antioxidant enzymes, S. parviflora showed higher ascorbate peroxidase, peroxidase values, and lipid peroxidation. We additionally identified that malate can also function to neutralize the free-reactive Fe and may contribute to the tolerance mechanism in P. urvillei. Therefore, these species have the ability to accumulate high concentrations of iron within a few days using effective and different adjustments in photosynthetic, antioxidant and carbon metabolism to cope with iron excess.

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Acknowledgements

This study was financed in part by the Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior—Brasil (CAPES)—Finance Code 001 and to SECTES (Secretaria de Estado de Ciência, Tecnologia e Ensino Superior). The authors acknowledges the National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq), Brazil, for the Research Productivity scholarship granted to L.C. Silva 309308/2018-6.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Universidade Federal de Viçosa, Viçosa, 36570-900, Brazil

    Talita O. Araújo, Larisse Freitas-Silva, Franklin Magnum de O. Silva, Cleberson Ribeiro, Kacilda N. Kuki, Adriano Nunes-Nesi & Luzimar C. Silva

  2. Universidade Federal de Viçosa, Campus de Florestal, Florestal, 35690-000, Brazil

    Eduardo G. Pereira

  3. Universidade Federal Do Recôncavo da Bahia, Cruz das Almas, BA, 44380-000, Brazil

    Larisse Freitas-Silva

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  1. Talita O. Araújo
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  2. Larisse Freitas-Silva
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  3. Franklin Magnum de O. Silva
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  4. Cleberson Ribeiro
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  5. Kacilda N. Kuki
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  6. Eduardo G. Pereira
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  7. Adriano Nunes-Nesi
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  8. Luzimar C. Silva
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Contributions

TA, LS, KK, EP and AN conceived and designed the research. TA, LF and FS conducted the experiments and conducted the biochemical and metabolite analyses. TA, LS, CR, FS, KK, EP, AN, and LS discussed the results and participated in manuscript preparation. TA wrote the manuscript. All authors read and approved the manuscript.

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Correspondence to Luzimar C. Silva.

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Araújo, T.O., Freitas-Silva, L., de O. Silva, F.M. et al. Understanding photosynthetic and metabolic adjustments in iron hyperaccumulators grass. Theor. Exp. Plant Physiol. 32, 147–162 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40626-020-00176-9

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