Study on the physiological and metabolic mechanisms of exogenous quercetin in cadmium hyperaccumulator Amaranthus hypochondriacus L
Abstract
Introduction: Improving cadmium (Cd) tolerance and phytoremediation efficiency in hyperaccumulator plants is a critical scientific issue in environmental remediation. Remediation performance is often constrained by physiological bottlenecks, including insufficient tolerance to high Cd stress and low heavy metal accumulation capacity. Against this background, exploring effective strategies to enhance the phytoremediation efficiency of hyperaccumulators has important theoretical and practical value.
Methods: Using Amaranthus hypochondriacus L. (amaranth) cultivar R104, quercetin (0, 5, 10, 20 mg·L-1; denoted as CK, Q1, Q2, and Q3, respectively) was applied under varying Cd levels (0, 4, 20 mg·kg⁻¹; denoted as Cd0, Cd4, and Cd20, respectively), and physiological traits, antioxidant responses, and key metabolites were comprehensively assessed.
Results: The results demonstrate that exogenous quercetin markedly alleviated Cd induced toxicity, with the Cd20Q2 treatment showing the most pronounced mitigation effect. Compared the Cd stressed control without quercetin, electrolyte leakage was reduced by 49.5%, chlorophyll content increased by 17.7%, and the plant's Cd enrichment capacity was significantly enhanced, with the aboveground enrichment factor reaching 7.02. It revealed that quercetin activated the phenylpropanoid flavonoid pathway, promoting the synthesis of endogenous flavonoids (notably quercetin and kaempferol) and increasing glutathione (GSH) levels and overall…
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