Different responses of low grain-Cd-accumulating and high grain-Cd-accumulating rice cultivars to Cd stress

Cadmium (Cd) is a major heavy metal pollutant which is highly toxic to plants and animals. The accumulation of Cd in rice grains is a major agricultural problem in regions with Cd pollution. A hydroponics experiment using low grain-Cd-accumulating rice (xiushui 11) and high grain-Cd-accumulating rice (xiushui 110) was carried out to characterize the different responses of rice cultivars to Cd stress. We found that xiushui 11 was more tolerant to Cd than xiushui 110, and xiushui 11 suffered less oxidative damage. Cell walls played an important role in limiting the amount of Cd that entered the protoplast, especially in xiushui 11. Cd stored in organelles as soluble fractions, leading to greater physiological stress of Cd detoxification. We found that Cd can disturb the ion homeostasis in rice roots because Cd(2+) and Ca(2+) may have a similar uptake route. Xiushui 11 had a faster root-to-shoot transport of Cd, and the expression level of OsPCR1 gene which was predicted related with Cd accumulation in rice was consist with the Cd transport of root-to-shoot in rice and maintain the greater Cd tolerance of xiushui 11. These results suggest there are different Cd detoxification and accumulation mechanisms in rice cultivars.