Abstract
Exogenous cyanide (CN−) effects on nitrogen (N) uptake, transport, and assimilation in rice seedlings were investigated at the biochemical and molecular levels. Seedlings were treated with either a 2-d or 4-d supply of potassium cyanide (KCN) in the nutrient solution containing nitrate (NO3−) or ammonium (NH4+). Although a KCN-induced increase was recorded in the activity of β-cyanoalanine synthase (β-CAS) in rice tissues of both NH4+-fed and NO3−-fed seedlings, the former showed a significantly greater assimilation rate for CN− than the latter. The addition of KCN decreased NO3− uptake and assimilation, whereas a negligible impact was observed in NH4+ treatments. Enzymatic assays showed a marked activities enhancement of glutamine synthetase (GS), glutamate synthase (GOGAT), and glutamate dehydrogenase (GDH) in NH4+-fed seedlings after KCN exposure. Similarly, the rises occurring in nitrate reductase (NR) and GDH activity in NO3−-fed seedlings were also detected after 2-d exposure to KCN, whereas a significant reduction of GS and GOGAT activities was determined. The results suggest that although exogenous KCN at moderate or high concentrations caused repressively effects on biomass growth of both NH4+-fed and NO3−-fed rice seedlings, the nontoxic concentration of KCN supplied can serve as a supplemental N source in plant nutrition and N metabolism.
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This work was financially supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No: 41877493)
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XZY has received the grants from the National Natural Science Foundation of China. The other authors CZL, LY, YJL, HZ, and SR declare that they have no conflict of interest.
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Li, CZ., Yang, L., Lin, YJ. et al. Assimilation of exogenous cyanide cross talk in Oryza sativa L. to the key nodes in nitrogen metabolism. Ecotoxicology 29, 1552–1564 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10646-020-02265-6
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10646-020-02265-6