Evaluation of Cadmium Effects on Six <i>Solanum melongena</i> L. Cultivars from the Mediterranean Basin
Cadmium (Cd) contamination is a severe problem in the environment and produces detrimental effects on crop productivity and quality. Characterization of crop performance at different Cd concentrations is crucial to identify pollution-safe cultivars with low translocation efficiency to aboveground or...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2022-07-01
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| Series: | Agriculture |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0472/12/7/1059 |
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| author | Edgardo Filippone Valentina Tranchida-Lombardo Alessia Vitiello Fabrizio Ruiu Mina Di Salvatore Teresa Rosa Galise Lucrezia Laccetti Angela Amoresano Gennaro D’Ambrosio Luigi Frusciante Giovanni Scopece Pasquale Chiaiese |
| author_facet | Edgardo Filippone Valentina Tranchida-Lombardo Alessia Vitiello Fabrizio Ruiu Mina Di Salvatore Teresa Rosa Galise Lucrezia Laccetti Angela Amoresano Gennaro D’Ambrosio Luigi Frusciante Giovanni Scopece Pasquale Chiaiese |
| author_sort | Edgardo Filippone |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Cadmium (Cd) contamination is a severe problem in the environment and produces detrimental effects on crop productivity and quality. Characterization of crop performance at different Cd concentrations is crucial to identify pollution-safe cultivars with low translocation efficiency to aboveground organs to be used for food safety. Here, we estimated germination, survival, growth, photosynthetic pigments, Cd bioaccumulation, among-organs translocation, and ionic balance in six <i>Solanum melongena</i> L. (eggplant) cultivars from the central Mediterranean basin. On two cultivars, we also analyzed expression of genes involved in Cd uptake, i.e., heavy metal ATPases (<i>HMA</i>s) and metal tolerance proteins (<i>MTP</i>s). We found that Cd has a negative effect on all the investigated parameters but with relevant among-cultivar differences. Cd-treated plants showed a decrease in germination rate and survival. Photosynthetic pigments showed opposite trends, i.e., with increasing Cd contents, we observed a decrease in chlorophylls and an increase in carotenoids. The investigated cultivars showed high ability of sequestrating Cd in roots but a low translocation efficiency to the aboveground organs, suggesting a good potential for food safety. The response of plants to Cd was mediated by a different expression of the <i>MTP</i> and <i>HMA</i> gene families. Our study represents the first comprehensive investigation of Cd tolerance in eggplant varieties from the Mediterranean basin and highlights the importance of comparative studies to identify Cd-tolerant cultivars. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T12:23:55Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-9a8d2bd8e37248aab063524ba7bbf11e |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2077-0472 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T12:23:55Z |
| publishDate | 2022-07-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Agriculture |
| spelling | doaj.art-9a8d2bd8e37248aab063524ba7bbf11e2023-11-30T22:37:48ZengMDPI AGAgriculture2077-04722022-07-01127105910.3390/agriculture12071059Evaluation of Cadmium Effects on Six <i>Solanum melongena</i> L. Cultivars from the Mediterranean BasinEdgardo Filippone0Valentina Tranchida-Lombardo1Alessia Vitiello2Fabrizio Ruiu3Mina Di Salvatore4Teresa Rosa Galise5Lucrezia Laccetti6Angela Amoresano7Gennaro D’Ambrosio8Luigi Frusciante9Giovanni Scopece10Pasquale Chiaiese11Department of Agricultural Sciences, University of Naples Federico II, Via Università 100, 80055 Portici, ItalyNational Research Council of Italy, Institute of Biosciences and Bioresources (CNR-IBBR), Via Università 133, 80055 Portici, ItalyDepartment of Agricultural Sciences, University of Naples Federico II, Via Università 100, 80055 Portici, ItalyDepartment of Agricultural Sciences, University of Naples Federico II, Via Università 100, 80055 Portici, ItalyDepartment of Agricultural Sciences, University of Naples Federico II, Via Università 100, 80055 Portici, ItalyDepartment of Biology, University of Naples Federico II, 80126 Naples, ItalyDepartment of Biology, University of Naples Federico II, 80126 Naples, ItalyDepartment of Chemical Sciences, University of Naples Federico II, Via Cinthia, 21, 80126 Naples, ItalyDepartment of Agricultural Sciences, University of Naples Federico II, Via Università 100, 80055 Portici, ItalyDepartment of Agricultural Sciences, University of Naples Federico II, Via Università 100, 80055 Portici, ItalyDepartment of Biology, University of Naples Federico II, 80126 Naples, ItalyDepartment of Agricultural Sciences, University of Naples Federico II, Via Università 100, 80055 Portici, ItalyCadmium (Cd) contamination is a severe problem in the environment and produces detrimental effects on crop productivity and quality. Characterization of crop performance at different Cd concentrations is crucial to identify pollution-safe cultivars with low translocation efficiency to aboveground organs to be used for food safety. Here, we estimated germination, survival, growth, photosynthetic pigments, Cd bioaccumulation, among-organs translocation, and ionic balance in six <i>Solanum melongena</i> L. (eggplant) cultivars from the central Mediterranean basin. On two cultivars, we also analyzed expression of genes involved in Cd uptake, i.e., heavy metal ATPases (<i>HMA</i>s) and metal tolerance proteins (<i>MTP</i>s). We found that Cd has a negative effect on all the investigated parameters but with relevant among-cultivar differences. Cd-treated plants showed a decrease in germination rate and survival. Photosynthetic pigments showed opposite trends, i.e., with increasing Cd contents, we observed a decrease in chlorophylls and an increase in carotenoids. The investigated cultivars showed high ability of sequestrating Cd in roots but a low translocation efficiency to the aboveground organs, suggesting a good potential for food safety. The response of plants to Cd was mediated by a different expression of the <i>MTP</i> and <i>HMA</i> gene families. Our study represents the first comprehensive investigation of Cd tolerance in eggplant varieties from the Mediterranean basin and highlights the importance of comparative studies to identify Cd-tolerant cultivars.https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0472/12/7/1059bioaccumulationeggplantphysiological responsestolerancetrace metals |
| spellingShingle | Edgardo Filippone Valentina Tranchida-Lombardo Alessia Vitiello Fabrizio Ruiu Mina Di Salvatore Teresa Rosa Galise Lucrezia Laccetti Angela Amoresano Gennaro D’Ambrosio Luigi Frusciante Giovanni Scopece Pasquale Chiaiese Evaluation of Cadmium Effects on Six <i>Solanum melongena</i> L. Cultivars from the Mediterranean Basin Agriculture bioaccumulation eggplant physiological responses tolerance trace metals |
| title | Evaluation of Cadmium Effects on Six <i>Solanum melongena</i> L. Cultivars from the Mediterranean Basin |
| title_full | Evaluation of Cadmium Effects on Six <i>Solanum melongena</i> L. Cultivars from the Mediterranean Basin |
| title_fullStr | Evaluation of Cadmium Effects on Six <i>Solanum melongena</i> L. Cultivars from the Mediterranean Basin |
| title_full_unstemmed | Evaluation of Cadmium Effects on Six <i>Solanum melongena</i> L. Cultivars from the Mediterranean Basin |
| title_short | Evaluation of Cadmium Effects on Six <i>Solanum melongena</i> L. Cultivars from the Mediterranean Basin |
| title_sort | evaluation of cadmium effects on six i solanum melongena i l cultivars from the mediterranean basin |
| topic | bioaccumulation eggplant physiological responses tolerance trace metals |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0472/12/7/1059 |
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