# Bioaccumulation of the Heavy Metal Cadmium and Its Tolerance Mechanisms in Experimental Plant Suaeda salsa

## TL;DR

This study explores how the plant Suaeda salsa accumulates and tolerates cadmium, a heavy metal, and how it responds to different levels of cadmium exposure.

## Contribution

The study reveals new insights into the bioaccumulation and tolerance mechanisms of cadmium in Suaeda salsa under chronic exposure.

## Key findings

- Suaeda salsa showed increased growth at moderate cadmium concentrations but was inhibited at high concentrations.
- Cadmium accumulated more in roots than in other tissues and was mainly stored in cell walls and organelles.
- Glutathione levels increased with cadmium exposure, indicating a role in mitigating oxidative stress.

## Abstract

Suaeda salsa is relatively tolerant to cadmium (Cd) contamination. In order to investigate the bioaccumulation and stress responses of S. salsa under chronic exposure, we explored the growth, accumulation, and changes in antioxidant enzymes and glutathione (GSH) under different Cd concentrations over a 30-day soil culture experiment. Seedling height and weight in the 13.16 mg/kg Cd group were 13.26 cm and 0.21 g, significantly higher than the control group. Growth was significantly inhibited under high Cd concentration exposure, with a seedling and root length of 9.65 cm and 3.77 cm. The Cd concentration in all tissues was positively related to Cd treatment concentration, with the Cd contents in the roots being higher than in the other tissues. At a subcellular level, Cd was mainly concentrated in the cell walls, organelles, and soluble components within the range of 0.05–8.29, 0.02–2.40 and 0.08–1.35 μg/g, respectively. The accumulation of Cd in the roots tracked its proportion in the cell walls. The malondialdehyde (MDA) content of the plant tissues increased with increasing Cd concentration, indicating that Cd stress caused oxidative damage. The GSH content increased with increasing Cd concentration, with maximum values of 0.515 μmol/g in the stem in the 66.07 mg/kg Cd group. The catalase (CAT), superoxide dismutase (SOD), and peroxidase (POD) activity showed different change trends under Cd exposure. The results in this study could provide useful information on the tolerance mechanism of Cd in S. salsa, which provides information for exploiting S. salsa as a candidate for phytoremediation of Cd contamination.