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Boron deficiency decreased the root activity of Ga-exposed rice seedlings by reducing iron accumulation and increasing Ga in iron plaque

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Abstract

Gallium (Ga) is an emerging chemical pollutant chiefly associated with high-tech industries. Boron (B) alleviates the negative effects of toxic elements on plant growth. Thereby, the effects of B fertilization on Ga toxicity in rice seedlings was studied to clarify the role of iron plaque in the distribution of Ga, Fe, and B in Ga-treated rice seedlings in the presence or absence of B. Gallium exposure significantly reduced the biomass of rice seedlings. Boron deficiency induced a significant change in the distribution of B in Ga-treated rice seedlings compared with “Ga+B” treatments. Accumulation of Ga in roots, dithionite-citrate-bicarbonate (DCB) extracts, and shoots showed a dose-dependent manner from both +B and –B rice seedlings. Boron nutrition levels affect the distribution of Fe in roots, DCB extracts, and shoots, in which DCB-extractable Fe was significantly decreased from “Ga-B” treatments compared with “Ga+B” treatments. Root activity was significantly decreased in both Ga-exposed rice seedlings; however, B-deficient seedlings showed a severe reduction than +B rice seedlings. These results reveal that Fe plaque might be a temporary sink for B accumulation when plants are grown with proper B, wherein the re-utilization of DCB-extractable B stored in Fe plaque is mandatory for plant growth under B deficiency. Correlation analysis revealed that B deficiency decreased the root activity of Ga-exposed rice seedlings by reducing DCB-extractable Fe and increasing DCB-extractable Ga in Fe plaque. This study enhances our understanding of how B nutritional levels affect Ga toxicity in rice plants.

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Author contributions

Investigation, and data analysis, W-LR; Investigation, data analysis, and software, C-ZL; Writing original draft preparation, AU; Conceptualization, methodology, supervision, writing, reviewing, Editing, and funding acquisition, X-ZY. All of the authors contributed to the final review of the manuscript.

Funding

This work is financially supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No.42277361).

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  1. These authors contributed equally: Wei-Lin Ren, Cheng-Zhi Li

Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Environmental Science & Engineering, Guilin University of Technology, Guilin, 541004, People’s Republic of China

    Wei-Lin Ren, Cheng-Zhi Li, Abid Ullah & Xiao-Zhang Yu

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  1. Wei-Lin Ren
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  2. Cheng-Zhi Li
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Correspondence to Xiao-Zhang Yu.

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Ren, WL., Li, CZ., Ullah, A. et al. Boron deficiency decreased the root activity of Ga-exposed rice seedlings by reducing iron accumulation and increasing Ga in iron plaque. Ecotoxicology 33, 142–150 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10646-024-02731-5

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