Silicon might mitigate nickel toxicity in maize roots via chelation, detoxification, and membrane transport

Nickel is an essential micronutrient for plant growth and development. However, in excessive amounts caused by accidental pollution of soils, this heavy metal is toxic to plants. Although silicon is a non-essential nutrient, it accumulates in most monocots, particularly the vital crop maize (corn, Z...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Olha Lakhneko, Ivana Fialová, Roderik Fiala, Mária Kopáčová, Andrej Kováč, Maksym Danchenko
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2024-12-01
Series:Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety
Subjects:
Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0147651324014106
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1850111915551883264
author Olha Lakhneko
Ivana Fialová
Roderik Fiala
Mária Kopáčová
Andrej Kováč
Maksym Danchenko
author_facet Olha Lakhneko
Ivana Fialová
Roderik Fiala
Mária Kopáčová
Andrej Kováč
Maksym Danchenko
author_sort Olha Lakhneko
collection DOAJ
description Nickel is an essential micronutrient for plant growth and development. However, in excessive amounts caused by accidental pollution of soils, this heavy metal is toxic to plants. Although silicon is a non-essential nutrient, it accumulates in most monocots, particularly the vital crop maize (corn, Zea mays). In fact, this metalloid mineral can alleviate the toxicity of heavy metals, though the mechanism is not entirely clear yet. Herein, we measured proteome, gene expression, enzyme activities, and selected sugars to investigate such effect thoroughly. Deep proteomic analysis revealed a minor impact of 100 µM Ni, 2.5 mM Si, or their combination on roots in 12-day-old hydroponically grown maize seedlings upon 9 days of exposure. Nonetheless, we suggested plausible mechanisms of Si mitigation of excessive Ni: Chelation by metallothioneins and phytochelatins, detoxification by glycine betaine pathway, and restructuring of plasma membrane transporters. Higher activity of glutathione S-transferase confirmed its plausible involvement in reducing Ni toxicity in combined treatment. Accumulation of sucrose synthase and corresponding soluble sugars in Ni and combined treatment implied high energy requirements both during heavy metal stress and its mitigation. Expression analysis of genes coding a few differentially accumulated proteins failed to reveal concordant changes, indicating posttranscriptional regulation. Proposed mitigation mechanisms should be functionally validated in follow-up studies.
format Article
id doaj-art-519a1af101c445318a9c18aaa98a4cdb
institution OA Journals
issn 0147-6513
language English
publishDate 2024-12-01
publisher Elsevier
record_format Article
series Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety
spelling doaj-art-519a1af101c445318a9c18aaa98a4cdb2025-08-20T02:37:32ZengElsevierEcotoxicology and Environmental Safety0147-65132024-12-0128811733410.1016/j.ecoenv.2024.117334Silicon might mitigate nickel toxicity in maize roots via chelation, detoxification, and membrane transportOlha Lakhneko0Ivana Fialová1Roderik Fiala2Mária Kopáčová3Andrej Kováč4Maksym Danchenko5Plant Science and Biodiversity Centre, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Bratislava 84523, SlovakiaPlant Science and Biodiversity Centre, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Bratislava 84523, SlovakiaPlant Science and Biodiversity Centre, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Bratislava 84523, SlovakiaInstitute of Chemistry, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Bratislava 84538, SlovakiaInstitute of Neuroimmunology, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Bratislava 84510, SlovakiaPlant Science and Biodiversity Centre, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Bratislava 84523, Slovakia; Correspondence author.Nickel is an essential micronutrient for plant growth and development. However, in excessive amounts caused by accidental pollution of soils, this heavy metal is toxic to plants. Although silicon is a non-essential nutrient, it accumulates in most monocots, particularly the vital crop maize (corn, Zea mays). In fact, this metalloid mineral can alleviate the toxicity of heavy metals, though the mechanism is not entirely clear yet. Herein, we measured proteome, gene expression, enzyme activities, and selected sugars to investigate such effect thoroughly. Deep proteomic analysis revealed a minor impact of 100 µM Ni, 2.5 mM Si, or their combination on roots in 12-day-old hydroponically grown maize seedlings upon 9 days of exposure. Nonetheless, we suggested plausible mechanisms of Si mitigation of excessive Ni: Chelation by metallothioneins and phytochelatins, detoxification by glycine betaine pathway, and restructuring of plasma membrane transporters. Higher activity of glutathione S-transferase confirmed its plausible involvement in reducing Ni toxicity in combined treatment. Accumulation of sucrose synthase and corresponding soluble sugars in Ni and combined treatment implied high energy requirements both during heavy metal stress and its mitigation. Expression analysis of genes coding a few differentially accumulated proteins failed to reveal concordant changes, indicating posttranscriptional regulation. Proposed mitigation mechanisms should be functionally validated in follow-up studies.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0147651324014106Glycine betaineHeavy metalMineral amendmentProteomeSoluble sugarsZea mays
spellingShingle Olha Lakhneko
Ivana Fialová
Roderik Fiala
Mária Kopáčová
Andrej Kováč
Maksym Danchenko
Silicon might mitigate nickel toxicity in maize roots via chelation, detoxification, and membrane transport
Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety
Glycine betaine
Heavy metal
Mineral amendment
Proteome
Soluble sugars
Zea mays
title Silicon might mitigate nickel toxicity in maize roots via chelation, detoxification, and membrane transport
title_full Silicon might mitigate nickel toxicity in maize roots via chelation, detoxification, and membrane transport
title_fullStr Silicon might mitigate nickel toxicity in maize roots via chelation, detoxification, and membrane transport
title_full_unstemmed Silicon might mitigate nickel toxicity in maize roots via chelation, detoxification, and membrane transport
title_short Silicon might mitigate nickel toxicity in maize roots via chelation, detoxification, and membrane transport
title_sort silicon might mitigate nickel toxicity in maize roots via chelation detoxification and membrane transport
topic Glycine betaine
Heavy metal
Mineral amendment
Proteome
Soluble sugars
Zea mays
url http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0147651324014106
work_keys_str_mv AT olhalakhneko siliconmightmitigatenickeltoxicityinmaizerootsviachelationdetoxificationandmembranetransport
AT ivanafialova siliconmightmitigatenickeltoxicityinmaizerootsviachelationdetoxificationandmembranetransport
AT roderikfiala siliconmightmitigatenickeltoxicityinmaizerootsviachelationdetoxificationandmembranetransport
AT mariakopacova siliconmightmitigatenickeltoxicityinmaizerootsviachelationdetoxificationandmembranetransport
AT andrejkovac siliconmightmitigatenickeltoxicityinmaizerootsviachelationdetoxificationandmembranetransport
AT maksymdanchenko siliconmightmitigatenickeltoxicityinmaizerootsviachelationdetoxificationandmembranetransport