Differential responses of peroxidases in sweetpotato suspensioncultured cells to cadmium treatment

Abstract

As cultured plant cells can grow in high oxidative stress conditions, they form an excellent system to study antioxidant mechanisms and the mass production of antioxidants. Oxidative stress is a major cause of damage in plants exposed to various types of environmental stress, including heavy metals, such as cadmium (Cd). Heavy metal accumulation can interfere with many cell functions and plant growth. To evaluate the contribution of oxidative stress to Cd-induced toxicity, cultured sweetpotato (Ipomoea batatas) cells were treated with increasing concentrations of Cd (0, 10, 25, and 50 μM) and cultured further. Cell growth was significantly inhibited by 25 and 50 μM of Cd, and the total protein content increased with 50 μM of Cd. Additionally, the activity of peroxidase (POD) and ascorbate peroxidase (APX), antioxidant enzymes that remove hydrogen peroxide (a reactive oxygen species), increased in the cells after treatment with 50 μM of Cd. The expression analysis of POD, APX, and peroxiredoxin (PRX) isolated from sweetpotato cultured cells in a previous study revealed the differential expression of POD in response to Cd. In this study, the expression levels of several acidic POD (swpa2, swpa3, and swpa4) and basal POD (swpb1, swpb2, and swpb3) genes were increased in Cd-treated cultured cells. These results indicate that Cd-mediated oxidative stress is closely linked to improved POD-mediated antioxidant defense capacity in sweetpotato suspension-cultured cells. © 2023 Korean Society for Plant Biotechnology.