Characteristics of Cadmium Uptake and Accumulation by Two Contrasting Ecotypes of Sedum alfredii Hance

Abstract

The mined ecotype of Sedum alfredii Hance has been identified to be a zinc (Zn) hyperaccumulator native to China. In the present article, the characteristics of cadmium (Cd) uptake and accumulation were compared with hydroponic experiments between the mined and the nonmined ecotypes of Sedum alfredii Hance. The results indicate that the plants of the mined ecotype (ME) have higher tolerance of Cd than the plants of the nonmined ecotypes (NME) in terms of dry matter yield. The thresholds of external Cd levels for the reduction of plant growth were 100 µmol L⁻¹ for the NME and 400 µmol L⁻¹ for the ME, respectively. Kinetic study showed that the rates of Cd influx into roots (IR) and transport to shoots (TR) were higher in the ME than in the NME, with 5-fold higher for the maximum IR (I _max) and 13-fold higher for the maximum TR (T _max) in the NME, respectively. Cadmium concentrations increased with increasing external Cd supply levels. Root Cd concentrations in the NME were higher than that in the ME, with a maximum being 5646 mg kg⁻¹ for the NME and 2889 mg kg⁻¹ for the ME at 1000 µmol L⁻¹ Cd. On the contrary, shoot Cd concentrations of the NME were far lower than that of the ME. Maximum shoot Cd concentrations were 533 mg kg⁻¹ in leaves and 935 mg kg⁻¹ in stems at 1000 µmol L⁻¹ Cd for NME, whereas, 4933 and 3874 mg kg⁻¹ at 400 µmol L⁻¹ Cd for the ME, respectively. Meanwhile, Cd concentrations in the shoots of both the NME and ME increased with advancing Cd treatment time. At 100 µmolL⁻¹ Cd, concentrations of Cd in leaves and stems of the NME sharply increased within initial 8 and 12 days, and those in the ME increased dramatically until D20 and D16, respectively. However, leaf and stem Cd concentrations reached their maximum values on D4 for the NME and D8 for the ME, respectively, when the plants were exposed to 1 µmol L⁻¹ Cd. Cadmium accumulation by plant shoots was obvious higher in the ME than in the NME at varied Cd supply levels or Cd treatment time. The maximum Cd taken up by the shoots was 1032 µg plant⁻¹ in concentration-dependent uptake, and 1699 µg plant⁻¹ in time-course uptake for the ME, with 15-fold and 18-fold higher than those for the NME, respectively. The ratios of shoot/root of Cd ranged from 12 to 39, varying with Cd supply levels, and from 13 to 24 in the varied treatment times for the ME, more than 10 times greater than those for the NME. In addition, Cd distribution in leaves, stems and roots of ME was greatly different from those of NME. The percentage of Cd distribution in shoots was more than 79 at the varied Cd supply levels, or 83 in the varied treatment time for ME, both higher than that for NME. It could be concluded that the mined ecotype of Sedum alfredii Hance has a greater ability to tolerate, transport, and accumulate Cd, as compared with the nonmined ecotype.

Keywords:

• Cadmium
• Ecotype
• Hyperaccumulator
• Sedum alfredii Hance

Acknowledgments

The authors thank the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No: 20277035 and 39925024) and Science and Technology Ministry Foundation of China (#2002CB410804) for the financial support of this study.