Open Access

ARTICLE

Silicon Mitigates Aluminum Toxicity of Tartary Buckwheat by Regulating Antioxidant Systems

by Anyin Qi^1,#, Xiaonan Yan^1,#, Yuqing Liu^1,#, Qingchen Zeng¹, Hang Yuan¹, Huange Huang¹, Chenggang Liang², Dabing Xiang¹, Liang Zou¹, Lianxin Peng¹, Gang Zhao¹, Jingwei Huang^1,*, Yan Wan^1,*

1 Key Laboratory of Coarse Cereal Processing, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Sichuan Engineering & Technology Research Center of Coarse Cereal Industrialization, College of Food and Biological Engineering, Chengdu University, Chengdu, 610106, China
2 Research Center of Buckwheat Industry Technology, School of Life Sciences, Guizhou Normal University, Guiyang, 550001, China

* Corresponding Authors: Jingwei Huang. Email: ; Yan Wan. Email:
# These authors equally contribute to this work

(This article belongs to the Special Issue: Abiotic and Biotic Stress Tolerance in Crop)

Phyton-International Journal of Experimental Botany 2024, 93(1), 1-13. https://doi.org/10.32604/phyton.2023.045802

Received 08 September 2023; Accepted 14 November 2023; Issue published 26 January 2024

Abstract

Aluminum (Al) toxicity is a considerable factor limiting crop yield and biomass in acidic soil. Tartary buckwheat growing in acidic soil may suffer from Al poisoning. Here, we investigated the influence of Al stress on the growth of tartary buckwheat seedling roots, and the alleviation of Al stress by silicon (Si), as has been demonstrated in many crops. Under Al stress, root growth (total root length, primary root length, root tips, root surface area, and root volume) was significantly inhibited, and Al and malondialdehyde (MDA) accumulated in the root tips. At the same time, catalase (CAT) and ascorbate peroxidase activities, polyphenols, flavonoids, and 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) and 2,2′-azinobis-(3-ethylbenzthiazoline-6-sulphonate) (ABTS) free-radical scavenging ability were significantly decreased. After the application of Si, root growth, Al accumulation, and oxidative damage were improved. Compared to Al-treated seedlings, the contents of ·O₂⁻ and MDA decreased by 29.39% and 25.22%, respectively. This was associated with Si-induced increases in peroxidase and CAT enzyme activity, flavonoid compounds, and free-radical scavenging (DPPH and ABTS). The application of Si therefore has positive effects on Al toxicity in tartary buckwheat roots by reducing Al accumulation in the roots and maintaining oxidation homeostasis.

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Keywords

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