Research indicates blue light enhances cadmium tolerance of aquatic plant

Cadmium (Cd), a heavy metal widely distributed in aquatic systems, enters water bodies through the use of phosphorus fertilizers and industrial discharges. Its high mobility in plant systems poses a great threat to human health.

Researchers from the Wuhan Botanical Garden of the Chinese Academy of Sciences evaluated the effects of Cd toxicity on the aquatic plant Potamogeton crispus (P. crispus) exposed to different light qualities (white, blue, and red light) and elucidated the underlying mechanism. The study, titled "Blue light enhances cadmium tolerance of the aquatic macrophyte Potamogeton crispus," was published in the journal Plants.

According to the researchers, Cd induced severe adverse morphological changes and decreased physicochemical properties in P. crispus, but the severity of the damage caused by Cd was less pronounced in blue light when compared to white and red light.

Moreover, the lower level of malondialdehyde (MDA) and less superoxide (O₂^–) implied that the P. crispus grown under blue light suffered less oxidative stress compared to white and red light. The increased ascorbate peroxidase activity and non-photochemical quenching coefficient in leaves seemed to be closely related to the higher Cd tolerance in B-grown P. crispus.

This study may have important guiding significance for better understanding of physiological changes in aquatic plants, plant protection, or ecological restoration.