Short-term exposition to acute cadmium toxicity induces the loss of root gravitropic stimuli perception through PIN2-mediated auxin redistribution in Arabidopsis thaliana (L.) Heynh

Cadmium (Cd), one of the most widespread and water-soluble polluting heavy metals, has been widely studied on plants, even if the mechanisms underlying its phytotoxicity remain elusive. Indeed, most experiments are performed using extensive exposure time to the toxicants, not observing the primary targets affected. The present work studied Cd effects on Arabidopsis thaliana (L.) Heynh's root apical meristem (RAM) exposed for short pe-riods (24 h and 48 h) to acute phytotoxic concentrations (100 and 150 mu M). The effects were studied through integrated morpho-histological, molecular, pharmacological and metabolomic analyses, highlighting that Cd inhibited primary root elongation by affecting the meristem zone via altering cell expansion. Moreover, Cd altered Auxin accumulation in RAM and affected PINs polar transporters, particularly PIN2. In addition, we observed that high Cd concentration induced accumulation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in roots, which resulted in an altered organization of cortical microtubules and the starch and sucrose metabolism, altering the statolith formation and, consequently, the gravitropic root response. Our results demonstrated that short Cd exposition (24 h) affected cell expansion preferentially, altering auxin distribution and inducing ROS accumu-lation, which resulted in an alteration of gravitropic response and microtubules orientation pattern.

Automated summary

This study investigates the mechanisms underlying the phytotoxicity of Cadmium (Cd) on Arabidopsis thaliana. The results reveal that Cd inhibits primary root elongation by affecting cell expansion in the meristem zone. Cd also alters Auxin accumulation and affects the polar transporters PINs, particularly PIN2. Additionally, high Cd concentration induces accumulation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in roots, resulting in altered microtubules organization, starch and sucrose metabolism, and gravitropic root response.