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Intra-specific variation in zinc, cadmium and nickel hypertolerance and hyperaccumulation capacities in Noccaea caerulescens

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Abstract

Aims

The study aimed at characterizing the patterns of natural variation in the tolerance and accumulation capacities for zinc (Zn), cadmium (Cd), and nickel (Ni) between and within edaphic ecotypes of the Zn/Cd/Ni hyperaccumulator, Noccaea caerulescens.

Methods

Tolerance was assessed in a hydroponic ‘sequential exposure’ test, using the lowest concentration that completely arrested root growth as an end point. Accumulation was measured as the foliar metal concentration after six weeks of growth at 5 µM Zn, 2 µM Cd, or 1 µM Ni.

Results

Zn and Cd tolerance were positively correlated, and highest in the calamine ecotype. Ni tolerance was without significant ecotypic variation. The ultramafic ecotype was as Zn-tolerant as the non-metallicolous one, but much more sensitive to Cd. The accumulation capacities for Zn, Cd and Ni were all positively correlated and without significant ecotypic variation. Zn hyperaccumulation capacity was species-wide, but Cd and Ni hyperaccumulation capacities were lacking in four populations (all calamine).

Conclusions

There is considerable independent variation among populations regarding their Zn, Cd, and Ni accumulation capacities. This variation is most pronounced within the calamine ecotype, because some populations apparently had adopted an exclusion strategy for Zn or Cd hypertolerance, whereas others had not.

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Acknowledgements

The authors wish to thank Mathilde Mousset, Thibault Sterckeman, Celestino Quintela-Sabarís, Petra Kidd, Oihana Barrutía and Sylvain Merlot for supplying seeds of N. caerulescens, Hélène Frérot-Pauwels for seeds of A. lyrata and A. halleri, Takafumi Mizuno for seeds of N. japonicum, and Rudo Verweij, Rob Broekman, Richard van Logtestijn, Riet Vooijs and Sandy Goette for technical assistance. This work was partially supported by the grants from the Russian Foundation for Basic Research (RFBR, № 19-04-00369) and from the international scientific program GDRI LOCOMET (Transport, localization and complexation of metals in hyperaccumulating plants) funded by The National Centre for Scientific Research, France; and partially by the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation (state assignment №АААА-А19-119040290058-5).

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Author notes

  1. Anna D. Kozhevnikova and Ilya V. Seregin contributed equally to this work.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratory of Root Physiology, K.A. Timiryazev Institute of Plant Physiology RAS, IPP RAS, 35 Botanicheskaya St, Moscow, 127276, Russia

    Anna D. Kozhevnikova & Ilya V. Seregin

  2. Laboratory of Genetics, Wageningen University and Research, Droevendaalsesteeg 1, Wageningen, 6708 PB, The Netherlands

    Mark G. M. Aarts & Henk Schat

  3. Department of Ecological Science, Faculty of Sciences, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, De Boelelaan 1085, Amsterdam, 1081 HV, The Netherlands

    Henk Schat

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  1. Anna D. Kozhevnikova
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  2. Ilya V. Seregin
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  3. Mark G. M. Aarts
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Contributions

H.S. designed and performed the experiments and statistical analyses. A.D.K., I.V.S., and H.S. performed the mineral analyses. All authors contributed to the writing of the manuscript.

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Correspondence to Henk Schat.

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Responsible Editor: Fangjie Zhao.

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Figure S1

N. caerulescens root system staining with carbon for the sequential exposure test. A ̶ roots immediately after staining; B-D ̶ roots after 4 days of incubation on half-strength Hoagland`s nutrient solution following the staining with carbon; newly grown white root apices are marked with white arrowheads (DOCX 3597 kb)

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Kozhevnikova, A.D., Seregin, I.V., Aarts, M.G.M. et al. Intra-specific variation in zinc, cadmium and nickel hypertolerance and hyperaccumulation capacities in Noccaea caerulescens. Plant Soil 452, 479–498 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-020-04572-7

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