Open Access

ARTICLE

Effect of Cadmium Stress on the Growth, Physiology, Stress Markers, Antioxidants and Stomatal Behaviour of Two Genotypes of Chickpea ( Cicer arietinum L.)

by Sayyada Bushra¹, Shahla Faizan¹, Zeenat Mushtaq¹, Alisha Hussain¹, Khalid Rehman Hakeem^2,3,4,*

1 Environmental Physiology Laboratory, Department of Botany, Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh, 202002, India
2 Department of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, 21589, Saudi Arabia
3 Princess Dr NajlaBint Saud Al-Saud Center for Excellence Research in Biotechnology, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, 21589, Saudi Arabia
4 Department of Public Health, Daffodil International University, Dhaka, 1341, Bangladesh

* Corresponding Author: Khalid Rehman Hakeem. Email:

Phyton-International Journal of Experimental Botany 2022, 91(9), 1987-2004. https://doi.org/10.32604/phyton.2022.019957

Received 26 October 2021; Accepted 07 February 2022; Issue published 13 May 2022

Abstract

The current work was performed to know the impact of cadmium (Cd) toxicity on two different genotypes of chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) namely Pusa-BG1053 and Pusa-BG372. Cadmium was applied in the form of cadmium chloride (CdCl₂), in varying levels, 0, 25, 50, 75, and 100 mg Cd kg^-1 soil. Plant growth as well as physiological attributes were decreased with increasing concentration of Cd. Both genotypes showed the maximum and significant reduction at the maximum dose of Cd (100 mg Cd kg^-1 soil). Results of this study proved that the genotype Pusa-BG1053 was more tolerant and showed a lower decline in growth, photosynthetic and biochemical attributes than Pusa-BG372. This later genotype showed the maximum reduction and was sensitive to Cd stress. A better activity of antioxidants protected Pusa-BG1053 from Cd toxicity; on the other hand, the activity of antioxidants was much lower in Pusa-BG372. Scanning electron microscopic studies showed differences in both genotypes. In Pusa-BG1053, stomatal quantity was higher and stomata were slightly close to the characteristic guard cells. In Pusa-BG372 stomata were lower, slightly open and with highly affected guard cells. Root cell mortality due to the harsh effects of Cd appeared to be more evident in Pusa-BG372 than Pusa-BG1053, which was visible under a confocal microscope. As a result of this study, Pusa-BG1053 was a more tolerant genotype, and exhibited a minimum reduction in terms of all studied parameters than Pusa-BG372, which was a sensitive genotype to Cd toxicity.

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Keywords

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