Effects of aluminum on growth and structure of red pepper (Capsicum annuum L.) leaves

Abstract

Four-day-old seedlings of red pepper (Capsicum annuum L.) cv. “Trapez” were grown in nutrient solution containing 0, 10, 20 and 40 mg dm−3 of AlCl3·6H2O for 14 days. Observations of leaves were carried out by light microscopy, as well as transmission and scanning electron microscopies. Exposure to aluminum resulted in reduction in the size and thickness of the leaf blades related to a decrease in the size of cells composing the leaves, as well as an increase in the number of stomata in the abaxial epidermis, with a simultaneous reduction of their size. The outer cell wall of the epidermis of the leaves was marked by a significant thickening in the presence of aluminum. The mesophyll cells contained enlarged chloroplasts having a disturbed structure of the lamellar system, filled with large starch grains. Rounded mitochondria were characterised by the electron lighter matrix and the destruction of the mitochondrial cristae. In the vacuoles of the parenchyma cells, as well as in the epidermis of the leaves, dark electron-dense bodies, presumably aluminum deposits, were observed.