Exogenous 3,3'-Diindolylmethane Improves Vanadium Stress Tolerance in Brassica napus Seedling Shoots by Modulating Antioxidant Enzyme Activities.

Arun Gokul,Lee-Ann Niekerk,Marshall Keyster,David Mendoza-Cozatl,Ashwil Klein,Ndiko Ludidi,Mogamat Fahiem Carelse

doi:10.3390/biom11030436

Arun Gokul, Lee-Ann Niekerk + Show 5 more

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https://doi.org/10.3390/biom11030436

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Abstract

3,3′-diindolylmethane (DIM) belongs to a family of indole glucosinolate compounds that have been shown to improve Brassica napus growth through the modulation of reactive oxygen species when applied exogenously. The B. napus cultivar AV Garnet was previously identified as a vanadium-sensitive cultivar. Therefore, in this study we investigated whether exogenous DIM could improve the vanadium tolerance of AV Garnet. We performed the following experiments: seed germination assessment, dry weight assessment, cell viability assay, chlorophyll content assay, malondialdehyde (MDA) assay, conjugated diene (CD) content assay, hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) content assay, superoxide (O2−) content determination, methylglyoxal (MG) content determination, hydroxyl radical (·OH) concentration determination, ascorbate peroxidase (APX) activity assay, superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity assay, glyoxalase I (Gly I) activity assay, glutathione S-transferase (GST) activity assay and inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectroscopy (ICP-OES) analysis for vanadium content determination. Under vanadium stress, exogenous DIM increased the seed germination percentage, shoot dry weight, cell viability and chlorophyll content. Exogenous DIM also led to a decrease in MDA, CD, H2O2, O2−, MG and ·OH, under vanadium stress in the shoots. Furthermore, DIM application led to an increase in the enzymatic activities of APX, SOD, Gly I and GST under vanadium stress. Interestingly, under vanadium stress, DIM treatment did not alter vanadium content in B. napus shoots. Our results indicate that exogenous application of DIM can improve B. napus seedling shoot growth and biomass under vanadium stress by priming the antioxidant enzymes via reactive oxygen species (ROS) signaling.

Highlights

Introduction distributed under the terms andBrassica napus is a plant species from the family Brassicaceae and is thought to have originated from the hybridization of two species, Brassica rapa and Brassica oleracea, between6800 and 12,500 years ago
Our results suggest that exogenous DIM treatments can enhance the vanadium stress tolerance of a vanadium-sensitive B. napus cultivar, AV Garnet, at the seed germination and seedling development stage
DIM treatment did not alter vanadium content in the combination treatment, which suggests that the triggered signaling events are crucial for the DIM-induced tolerance in the seedling shoots

Summary

Introduction

Introduction distributed under the terms andBrassica napus is a plant species from the family Brassicaceae and is thought to have originated from the hybridization of two species, Brassica rapa and Brassica oleracea, between6800 and 12,500 years ago. B. napus is an oil crop ranked behind soybean as the 2nd largest for oil production [1]. B. napus is widely used as a healthy source of vitamin E, for the conditions of the Creative Commons. Biomolecules 2021, 11, 436 production of margarine, dairy blends, animal feed, emulsifiers and cooking oils [2]. Due to its nutritional benefits in human consumption as well as animal feed, the demand for. B. napus has rapidly increased over time [3]. B. napus yield is limited by heavy metal stress such as cadmium [4], lead [5], arsenic [6], chromium [7], mercury [8], nickel [9], copper [10] and vanadium stress [11]

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