Heavy Metal Pre-Conditioning History Modulates <i>Spartina patens</i> Physiological Tolerance along a Salinity Gradient
Land salinization, resulting from the ongoing climate change phenomena, is having an increasing impact on coastal ecosystems like salt marshes. Although halophyte species can live and thrive in high salinities, they experience differences in their salt tolerance range, being this a determining facto...
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| Format: | Article |
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MDPI AG
2021-09-01
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| Series: | Plants |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2223-7747/10/10/2072 |
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| author | João Carreiras Jesús Alberto Pérez-Romero Enrique Mateos-Naranjo Susana Redondo-Gómez Ana Rita Matos Isabel Caçador Bernardo Duarte |
| author_facet | João Carreiras Jesús Alberto Pérez-Romero Enrique Mateos-Naranjo Susana Redondo-Gómez Ana Rita Matos Isabel Caçador Bernardo Duarte |
| author_sort | João Carreiras |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Land salinization, resulting from the ongoing climate change phenomena, is having an increasing impact on coastal ecosystems like salt marshes. Although halophyte species can live and thrive in high salinities, they experience differences in their salt tolerance range, being this a determining factor in the plant distribution and frequency throughout marshes. Furthermore, intraspecific variation to NaCl response is observed in high-ranging halophyte species at a population level. The present study aims to determine if the environmental history, namely heavy metal pre-conditioning, can have a meaningful influence on salinity tolerance mechanisms of <i>Spartina patens</i>, a highly disperse grass invader in the Mediterranean marshes. For this purpose, individuals from pristine and heavy metal contaminated marsh populations were exposed to a high-ranging salinity gradient, and their intraspecific biophysical and biochemical feedbacks were analyzed. When comparing the tolerance mechanisms of both populations, <i>S. patens</i> from the contaminated marsh appeared to be more resilient and tolerant to salt stress, this was particularly present at the high salinities. Consequently, as the salinity increases in the environment, the heavy metal contaminated marsh may experience a more resilient and better adapted <i>S. patens</i> community. Therefore, the heavy metal pre-conditioning of salt mash populations appears to be able to create intraspecific physiological variations at the population level that can have a great influence on marsh plant distribution outcome. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T06:14:54Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-04e36fd0d37b4c3296e73d704f4c14fa |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2223-7747 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T06:14:54Z |
| publishDate | 2021-09-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Plants |
| spelling | doaj.art-04e36fd0d37b4c3296e73d704f4c14fa2023-11-22T19:43:15ZengMDPI AGPlants2223-77472021-09-011010207210.3390/plants10102072Heavy Metal Pre-Conditioning History Modulates <i>Spartina patens</i> Physiological Tolerance along a Salinity GradientJoão Carreiras0Jesús Alberto Pérez-Romero1Enrique Mateos-Naranjo2Susana Redondo-Gómez3Ana Rita Matos4Isabel Caçador5Bernardo Duarte6MARE—Marine and Environmental Sciences Centre, Faculty of Sciences of the University of Lisbon, Campo Grande, 1749-016 Lisbon, PortugalDepartamento de Biología Vegetal y Ecología, Facultad de Biología, Universidad de Sevilla, Av. Reina Mercedes s/n, 41012 Sevilla, SpainDepartamento de Biología Vegetal y Ecología, Facultad de Biología, Universidad de Sevilla, Av. Reina Mercedes s/n, 41012 Sevilla, SpainDepartamento de Biología Vegetal y Ecología, Facultad de Biología, Universidad de Sevilla, Av. Reina Mercedes s/n, 41012 Sevilla, SpainPlant Functional Genomics Group, BioISI—Biosystems and Integrative Sciences Institute, Departamento de Biologia Vegetal, Faculdade de Ciências da Universidade de Lisboa, Campo Grande, 1749-016 Lisboa, PortugalMARE—Marine and Environmental Sciences Centre, Faculty of Sciences of the University of Lisbon, Campo Grande, 1749-016 Lisbon, PortugalMARE—Marine and Environmental Sciences Centre, Faculty of Sciences of the University of Lisbon, Campo Grande, 1749-016 Lisbon, PortugalLand salinization, resulting from the ongoing climate change phenomena, is having an increasing impact on coastal ecosystems like salt marshes. Although halophyte species can live and thrive in high salinities, they experience differences in their salt tolerance range, being this a determining factor in the plant distribution and frequency throughout marshes. Furthermore, intraspecific variation to NaCl response is observed in high-ranging halophyte species at a population level. The present study aims to determine if the environmental history, namely heavy metal pre-conditioning, can have a meaningful influence on salinity tolerance mechanisms of <i>Spartina patens</i>, a highly disperse grass invader in the Mediterranean marshes. For this purpose, individuals from pristine and heavy metal contaminated marsh populations were exposed to a high-ranging salinity gradient, and their intraspecific biophysical and biochemical feedbacks were analyzed. When comparing the tolerance mechanisms of both populations, <i>S. patens</i> from the contaminated marsh appeared to be more resilient and tolerant to salt stress, this was particularly present at the high salinities. Consequently, as the salinity increases in the environment, the heavy metal contaminated marsh may experience a more resilient and better adapted <i>S. patens</i> community. Therefore, the heavy metal pre-conditioning of salt mash populations appears to be able to create intraspecific physiological variations at the population level that can have a great influence on marsh plant distribution outcome.https://www.mdpi.com/2223-7747/10/10/2072halophytesosmotic stresspre-conditioningintraspecific variability |
| spellingShingle | João Carreiras Jesús Alberto Pérez-Romero Enrique Mateos-Naranjo Susana Redondo-Gómez Ana Rita Matos Isabel Caçador Bernardo Duarte Heavy Metal Pre-Conditioning History Modulates <i>Spartina patens</i> Physiological Tolerance along a Salinity Gradient Plants halophytes osmotic stress pre-conditioning intraspecific variability |
| title | Heavy Metal Pre-Conditioning History Modulates <i>Spartina patens</i> Physiological Tolerance along a Salinity Gradient |
| title_full | Heavy Metal Pre-Conditioning History Modulates <i>Spartina patens</i> Physiological Tolerance along a Salinity Gradient |
| title_fullStr | Heavy Metal Pre-Conditioning History Modulates <i>Spartina patens</i> Physiological Tolerance along a Salinity Gradient |
| title_full_unstemmed | Heavy Metal Pre-Conditioning History Modulates <i>Spartina patens</i> Physiological Tolerance along a Salinity Gradient |
| title_short | Heavy Metal Pre-Conditioning History Modulates <i>Spartina patens</i> Physiological Tolerance along a Salinity Gradient |
| title_sort | heavy metal pre conditioning history modulates i spartina patens i physiological tolerance along a salinity gradient |
| topic | halophytes osmotic stress pre-conditioning intraspecific variability |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2223-7747/10/10/2072 |
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