Combined Citric Acid and Glutathione Augments Lead (Pb) Stress Tolerance and Phytoremediation of Castorbean through Antioxidant Machinery and Pb Uptake

Fanrong Zeng, Zahid Imran Mallhi, Naeem Khan, Muhammad Rizwan, Shafaqat Ali, Awais Ahmad, Afzal Hussain, Abdulaziz Abdullah Alsahli and Mohammed Nasser Alyemeni
Additional contact information
Fanrong Zeng: School of Agriculture, Yangtze University, 88 Jingmi Road, Jingzhou 434025, China
Zahid Imran Mallhi: Department of Environmental Science and Engineering, Government College University, Faisalabad 38000, Pakistan
Naeem Khan: Department of Agronomy, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611, USA
Muhammad Rizwan: Department of Environmental Science and Engineering, Government College University, Faisalabad 38000, Pakistan
Shafaqat Ali: Department of Environmental Science and Engineering, Government College University, Faisalabad 38000, Pakistan
Awais Ahmad: Department of Chemistry, The University of Lahore, Lahore 54590, Pakistan
Afzal Hussain: Department of Environmental Science and Engineering, Government College University, Faisalabad 38000, Pakistan
Abdulaziz Abdullah Alsahli: Department of Botany and Microbiology, College of Science, King Saud University, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia
Mohammed Nasser Alyemeni: Department of Botany and Microbiology, College of Science, King Saud University, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia

Sustainability, 2021, vol. 13, issue 7, 1-15

Abstract: Lead (Pb) is one of the most toxic elements on earth. The main origins of Pb pollution are automobiles, paint and electroplating industries. Pb-induced stress has very toxic effects on plant growth and biomass. The concentration of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in plant cells significantly increases under Pb stress, which interrupts the biochemical cycles in cells and leads to cell death. Therefore, it is essential to clean up the Pb-polluted soils. Among all techniques that are used to clean soil that is metal-contaminated, the best technique is phytoremediation. The present study intends to determine the role of citric acid (CA) and glutathione (GSH) in the phytoremediation of Pb by using castor bean plants. Plant biomass was significantly reduced due to Pb stress. Lead toxicity was also harmful to the photosynthetic pigments and antioxidant enzymes activities. In reverse, the content of malondialdehyde (MDA), H 2 O 2 concentration and electrolyte leakage (EL) were increased under Pb stress. The combined application of GSH and CA enhanced photosynthetic pigments, antioxidant enzyme activities and plant biomass and minimized MDA, H 2 O 2 and EL under Pb stress. The amount of Pb in roots and leaves remarkably increased by the joint application of CA and GSH. The combined application of CA and GSH (5 mM + 25 mM, respectively) was proven to be beneficial compared to the control. From the present results, we can conclude that the combined application of CA and GSH promoted the phytoremediation of Pb and helped the host plant to combat Pb toxicity.

Keywords: oxidative stress; castor bean; chelator; heavy metal; phytoextraction (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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