| Abstract [eng] |
Increasing soil contamination by heavy metals is a global environmental concern as they endanger ecosystems and pose a threat to human health when entering the food chain. Of these toxic metals, cadmium (Cd) does not play any beneficial role in plants, while its toxicity in plants depends on the bioavailability of Cd in soils and the concentration of elements that can compete with Cd during plant uptake. Through competition with nutrients, Cd has a significant effect on their uptake and distribution in the plant. However, Cd-induced responses on the uptake of plant nutrients are not straightforward. The control of Cd accumulation in plants is complicated by the fact that most of the essential nutrient transporters could also facilitate Cd uptake. In this way, similarities in physicochemical properties between Cd and other cations may interfere with the uptake of the latter. The bioavailability of Cd in soil, and therefore its phytoextraction, is influenced by many environmental factors, including climate change factors, the most important of which are the increasing concentration of carbon dioxide (CO2) in the atmosphere and temperature. Yet knowledge in regard to how these climate change-related factors interact with Cd exposure and downstream responses seems to be lacking. Therefore, the aim of this study is to elucidate if Cd affects plant uptake of essential elements from the soil in differential ways under current and future warmer climate conditions. For this purpose, we conducted the pot experiment with the rapeseed (Brassica napus L.) as the model plant in climate chambers under current climate (21/14 °C and 400 ?mol mol?1 CO2) and future climate (25/18 °C and 800 ?mol mol?1 CO2) conditions. Rapeseed is not only an important oilseed crop worldwide, but also an emerging biofuel crop and, like other Brassica species, has many features, like high biomass production, rapid growth rate, and ability to sequester Cd, suitable for the phytomanagement of Cd-contaminated soils. The content of Cd and mineral nutrients along with the interactions between Cd and nutrients in rapeseed were investigated.Acknowledgments: This research is funded by the European Social Fund under the No 09.3.3-LMT-K-712 “Development of Competences of Scientists, other Researchers and Students through Practical Research Activities” measure. |
