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Plant function and evolutionary biology
RESEARCH ARTICLE

Responses to lead stress in Scrophularia striata: insights into antioxidative defence mechanisms and changes in flavonoids profile

Reyhaneh Danaeipour A , Mohsen Sharifi https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1885-3592 A B * and Azam Noori C
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations

A Department of Plant Biology, Faculty of Biological Sciences, Tarbiat Modares University, Tehran, Iran.

B Center for International Scientific Studies and Collaborations (CISSC), Ministry of Science, Research and Technology, Tehran, Iran.

C Department of Biology, Merrimack College, North Andover, MA 01845, USA.

* Correspondence to: msharifi@modares.ac.ir

Handling Editor: Vadim Demidchik

Functional Plant Biology 51, FP23236 https://doi.org/10.1071/FP23236
Submitted: 6 October 2023  Accepted: 26 March 2024  Published: 22 April 2024

© 2024 The Author(s) (or their employer(s)). Published by CSIRO Publishing

Abstract

Lead (Pb) induces oxidative stress in plants, which results in different responses, including the production of antioxidants and changes in the profile of secondary metabolites. In this study, the responses of Scrophularia striata exposed to 250 mg L−1 Pb (NO3)2 in a hydroponic environment were determined. Growth parameters, oxidative and antioxidative responses, redox status, and the concentration of Pb were analysed in roots and shoots. Malondialdehyde and hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) levels in the roots were significantly increased and reached their highest value at 72 h after Pb treatment. Superoxide dismutase, catalase, and peroxidase, as an enzymatic antioxidant system, were responsible for reactive oxygen species scavenging, where their activities were increased in the shoot and root of Pb-treated plants. Enzymatic antioxidant activities were probably not enough to remove a significant H2O2 content in response to Pb treatment. Therefore, other defence responses were activated. The results stated that the flavonoid components of S. striata progressed towards the increase of isoflavone, flavanol, and stilbenoid contents under Pb treatment. In general, S. striata stimulates the enzymatic defence system and activates the non-enzymatic system by modulating the profile of flavonoids toward the production of flavonoids with high antioxidant activity, such as quercetin and myricetin in response to Pb stress.

Keywords: antioxidant responses, enzymatic defence, flavonoids, lead, nitric oxide, non-enzymatic system, oxidative stress, Scrophularia striata.

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