Coordination and speciation of cadmium in corn seedlings and its effects on macro- and micronutrients uptake

The effect of cadmium (Cd) on both the absorption of important nutrients and the synthesis of low molecular weight thiols (LMWTs) was investigated in corn plants. The inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectroscopy results demonstrated that the concentration of Cd in tissues (mainly in roots) increased as the concentration in the medium increased. In addition, the concentration of phosphorus increased in roots of Cd treated plants but remained at normal concentration in shoots. On the other hand, the uptake of sulfur (S) followed a similar trend as the Cd uptake. The concentration of S and the production of LMWT were found to increase significantly upon exposure to Cd. The results of the X-ray absorption spectroscopy analyses indicated that Cd within tissues was bound to S ligands with interatomic distances of 2.51–2.52 Å. These results confirm a strong linkage between S uptake and the production of LMWT upon exposure to Cd.