Nickel Toxicity Interferes with NO/NH Uptake and Nitrogen Metabolic Enzyme Activity in Rice ( L.).

Journal: Plants (Basel, Switzerland)
Published Date: May 25, 2022

Abstract

The excessive use of nickel (Ni) in manufacturing and various industries has made Ni a serious pollutant in the past few decades. As a micronutrient, Ni is crucial for plant growth at low concentrations, but at higher concentrations, it can hamper growth. We evaluated the effects of Ni concentrations on nitrate (NO) and ammonium (NH) concentrations, and nitrogen metabolism enzyme activity in rice seedlings grown in hydroponic systems, using different Ni concentrations. A Ni concentration of 200 μM significantly decreased the NO concentration in rice leaves, as well as the activities of nitrate reductase (NR), nitrite reductase (NiR), glutamine synthetase (GS), and glutamate synthetase (GOGAT), respectively, when compared to the control. By contrast, the NH concentration and glutamate dehydrogenase (GDH) activity both increased markedly by 48% and 46%, respectively, compared with the control. Furthermore, the activity of most active aminotransferases, including glutamic pyruvic transaminase (GPT) and glutamic oxaloacetic transaminase (GOT), was inhibited by 48% and 36%, respectively, in comparison with the control. The results indicate that Ni toxicity causes the enzymes involved in N assimilation to desynchronize, ultimately negatively impacting the overall plant growth.

Authors

  • Muhammad Rizwan
    Chemical Engineering, University of Waterloo, 200 University Avenue West, Waterloo, ON N2L 3G1, Canada.
  • Kamal Usman
    Agricultural Research Station (ARS), Office of VP for Research and Graduate Studies, Qatar University, Doha 2713, Qatar.
  • Mohammed Alsafran
    Agricultural Research Station (ARS), Office of VP for Research and Graduate Studies, Qatar University, Doha 2713, Qatar.
  • Hareb Al Jabri
    Center for Sustainable Development, College of Arts and Sciences, Qatar University, Doha 2713, Qatar.
  • Tayyaba Samreen
    Institute of Soil and Environmental Sciences, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad 38040, Pakistan.
  • Muhammad Hamzah Saleem
    Office of Academic Research, Office of VP for Research & Graduate Studies, Qatar University, Doha 2713, Qatar.
  • Shuxin Tu
    College of Resources and Environment, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan 430070, China.

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