Open Access

ARTICLE

Investigating the Mutagenic Impact of Cadmium Nitrate on Cytomorphological and Physiological Attributes in Nigella sativa L. Cultivars

by Parul Verma¹, Sana Choudhary¹, Neha Naaz^1,*, Nidhi Sharma¹, Nora M. Al Aboud², Fatmah Ahmed Safhi³, Diaa Abd El Moneim^4,*

1 Cytogenetics and Plant Breeding Lab, Department of Botany, Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh, India
2 Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Umm Al-Qura University, Makkah, Saudi Arabia
3 Department of Biology, College of Science, Princess Nourah bint Abdulrahman University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
4 Department of Plant Production (Genetic Branch), Faculty of Environmental Agricultural Sciences, Arish University, El-Arish, Egypt

* Corresponding Authors: Neha Naaz. Email: ; Diaa Abd El Moneim. Email:

Phyton-International Journal of Experimental Botany 2024, 93(12), 3347-3372. https://doi.org/10.32604/phyton.2024.057592

Received 21 August 2024; Accepted 20 November 2024; Issue published 31 December 2024

Abstract

Cadmium (Cd) is a highly toxic heavy metal pollutant primarily introduced into the environment through anthropogenic activities. In plants, the absorption and retention of Cd lead to a cascade of morphological, physiological, and cytological alterations. Nigella sativa L., also known as black cumin, is an annual herb with important commercial and medicinal uses. Thymoquinone, the primary bioactive compound in Nigella sativa L., is renowned for its potential health benefits. The current experiment aimed to ascertain the effects of various concentrations (10, 20, 30, 40 and 50 ppm) of cadmium nitrate (Cd(NO₃₊)₂) on two Nigella sativa cultivars (AN20 and Desi), analyzing their biological, physiological, quantitative attributes and cytological abnormalities in the M₁ generation. It adversely effects biological, morpho-physiological, quantitative attributes at higher concentrations (30, 40 and 50 ppm). Morphological variations were observed in terms of cotyledonary leaf (shape and color), vegetative leaves (shape, size and color), plant height (tall and dwarf), growth pattern (bushy and unbranched), flower (no. of petals, androecium and gynoecium), capsules (no. of locules) and seeds (size, color and texture). With increasing cadmium concentration, both physiological and quantitative characteristics declined in a dose-dependent manner, while proline content increased correspondingly with higher concentrations of Cd(NO₃)₂. The maximum depreciation was found at the highest cadmium nitrate concentration (i.e., 50 ppm). Cadmium nitrate significantly impacts the desi cultivar more than the AN20 cultivar. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) was used to observe stomatal morphology, which showed changes in stomatal size and structure. The variation in area percentage of compounds such as Thymoquinone; p-cymene; 9-Octadecenoic acid; 9,12-Octadecadienoic acid (Z, Z)-, methyl ester; 1,2,3-propanetriyl was detected by GC MS Analysis. The current study demonstrated that Nigella sativa cultivars AN20 and desi were successfully tested for induced mutagenesis, and it also offered a method that might be applied to future mutational breeding projects.

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