Abstract
Mercury (Hg) is a serious environmental pollution threat to the planet. The accumulation of Hg in plants disrupts many cellular-level functions and inhibits growth and development, but the mechanism is not fully understood. To gain more insight into the cellular response to Hg, we performed a large-scale analysis of the rice transcriptome during Hg stress. Genes induced with short-term exposure represented functional categories of cell-wall formation, chemical detoxification, secondary metabolism, signal transduction and abiotic stress response. Moreover, Hg stress upregulated several genes involved in aromatic amino acids (Phe and Trp) and increased the level of free Phe and Trp content. Exogenous application of Phe and Trp to rice roots enhanced tolerance to Hg and effectively reduced Hg-induced production of reactive oxygen species. Hg induced calcium accumulation and activated mitogen-activated protein kinase. Further characterization of the Hg-responsive genes we identified may be helpful for better understanding the mechanisms of Hg in plants.
Highlights
Mercury (Hg) is considered one of the most harmful metals in the environment
Six-day-old rice seedlings were exposed to 25 mM Hg for 1 to 24 h, and calcium accumulation, mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) activity and microarray analysis of rice roots were as described
Microarray-based Expression Profiling To begin elucidating the molecular basis of the rice response to
Summary
Mercury (Hg) is considered one of the most harmful metals in the environment. The Maximum Contaminant Level Goals for Hg by the US Environmental Protection Agency have been set at 2 parts per billion [1]. Mercury is detoxified by phytochelatins or their precursor, glutathione, both of which can bind Hg ions to sulfhydryl groups in plants [5]. Hg-induced oxidative damage in plants has been linked to excess production of reactive oxygen species (ROS), which may cause lipid peroxidation, enzyme inactivation and DNA and membrane damage [6]. Query item 36 12 substrate-specific transmembrane transporter activity ion transmembrane transporter activity cation transmembrane transporter activity hydrolase activity, acting on acid anhydrides, catalyzing transmembrane movement of substances. ATPase activity, coupled to transmembrane movement of substances active transmembrane transporter activity secondary active transmembrane transporter activity primary active transmembrane transporter activity peroxidase activity transcription factor activity monooxygenase activity dioxygenase activity protein kinase activity protein serine/threonine kinase activity protein tyrosine kinase activity kinase activity chitinase activity.
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