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ABSTRACT
The effect of 8-day-old exposure maize seedlings with cadmium (Cd) or zinc (Zn), separately, are described with special attention being given to ultrastructural changes as well as changes of the growth. These elements, frequent pollutants found in the soil, were added as 1 mM solutions to nutrient solution used for roots and shoots of maize seedlings, investigated 8 days after germination. The symptoms of heavy metal toxicity were clear showing that Cd inhibits root growth more strongly than the shoots and more effectively than zinc ions. The results of scanning electron microscopy revealed changes in the leaf surface, particularly in the guard cells of the stomata. The ultrastructural analyses of the parenchyma mesophyll cells showed extensive chloroplast disorganization, mainly affecting the thylakoid membranes and grana.
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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
We would like to thank CAPES and CNPq Brazilian agencies to support this work and J. F. Souza's Ph.D. thesis.