Trehalose and di-ammonium phosphate alleviate cadmium-induced oxidative stress and mitochondrial dysfunction in rice...

Cadmium (Cd) contamination poses a serious concern for crop productivity and food safety. This study investigates the effects of exogenous trehalose (Com A) and/or di-ammonium phosphate (DAP) (Com B) on mitigating Cd toxicity in 8th-day-old rice seedlings by using a series of experiments that included morphological analysis, assessment of oxidative parameters, analysis of antioxidant enzyme activity, microscopy, and gene expression analysis. Our findings show that the addition of trehalose and DAP reduces Cd uptake and retention by 322.1 µmol g⁻¹ DW in roots compared to 289.8 µmol g⁻¹ DW in shoots under Cd stress alone. Retention of Cd in the roots of rice seedlings improves growth, increases chlorophyll content, reduces oxidative stress by 30% in shoots and 54% in roots relative to Cd stress, and enhances the activity of antioxidant enzymes. The addition of trehalose and DAP enhanced mitochondrial electron transport system (ETS)-related genes, such as NADH dehydrogenase (complex I), SDH (complex II), and COX (complex IV), and their activities by 1.479, 1.56, and 2.6495-fold in the shoot, respectively, indicating that they are important for treatment-dependent modulation of mitochondrial redox in rice seedlings. The present findings demonstrate that rice seedlings effectively employ biochemical mechanisms, through exogenous trehalose and DAP, to mitigate the effects of Cd stress. This study concluded ways to reduce the toxicity of heavy metals in the environment.