H. portulacoides and J. maritimus in a mercury contaminated salt marsh: metal accumulation, biochemical and lipidomic patterns

• Autor(a) principal: Fernandes, Célia Carolina Moreira
• Data de Publicação: 2017
• Tipo de documento: Dissertação
• Idioma: eng
• Título da fonte: Repositório Científico de Acesso Aberto de Portugal (Repositórios Cientìficos)
• Texto Completo: http://hdl.handle.net/10773/22320
• topic: Mercúrio - Impacto ambiental; Stresse oxidativo; Bioacumulação

The salt marshes, one of the most productive ecosystems, serves as the sink for contaminants, namely metals from industries, reducing in this way the contamination of surrounding ecosystems. Although, as levels of contaminants, the ability of salt marshes to incorporate wastes can be impaired. In the aquatic environment, high mercury (Hg) pollution is mainly due to metal discharge of effluents from chloralki plants containing high concentrations of this metal. Mercury has been recognized as heavy metal and extremely toxic to plants interfering with several crucial cellular processes. This study evidenced the importance to understand the analysis that plants under environmental exposed to Hg and to evaluate impact of Hg toxicity in plants salt marsh communities. Better knowledge on these accumulation aspects will evaluate the stress imposed by Hg on primary production in salt marsh plants and adaptation of mobility of the metal in the ecosystem. As well as the molecular mechanisms mercury tolerance, which are important to clean efficiently Hg contaminated systems in order to an effective restoration is achieved. In this way, the work focused on two species of halophytes, Halimione portulacoides and Juncus maritimus collected at two sites of the Ria de Aveiro contaminated by mercury, considered s1 as less contaminated site and s2 as the most contaminated site. Thus, this work was designed to (1) evaluate how Hg distribution in plants would avoid high Hg concentrations (2) which way plants would retain Hg toxicity by triggering antioxidant responses. Indeed, most of biochemical parameters determinate the evidence of different responses by different concentration of Hg in the sediment (s1 and s2) and (3) plants can or not modify their lipid composition by Hg toxicity through the UPLC-MS methodology. This study demonstrated that both plant species restricted Hg uptake. However, the process was more efficient in H. portulacoides. Was observed differences in the amount of Hg accumulated by both species. Allocation patterns also differs between species. H. portulacoides showed different levels of Hg between leaves, stems and roots, while J. maritimus accumulated the higher levels of Hg in roots. The conjugation of both process, absorption and translocation resulted in similar Hg concentrations in stems and leaves and much higher Hg levels in J. maritimus roots. The results obtained demonstrate that Hg generated oxidative damage in the roots of both species and in leaves of H. portulacoides. Differences in LPO between species obtaining for each specie reflects not only the level of Hg accumulated and Hg distribution but also the ability to trigger the defense mechanisms. J. maritimus was able to increase the protein levels and DHAR activity in roots and rhizomes and GSTs in rhizomes. H. portulacoides was not able to induce the antioxidant enzymatic responses. Although in leaves antioxidant molecules such carotenoids and α-tocopherol were enhanced. In lipidome study, species also showed differences. In H. portulacoides, phospholipids decreased in all the organs analyzed, which can subject an alteration of membrane permeability. In addition, galactolipids decreased, reducing the efficiency on photosynthesis. However, α-tocopherol increased, and so better protection to chloroplast membranes and maintenance of photosynthetic activity provided. In J. maritimus, lipid changes were only detected in roots and rhizomes, increasing lipid permeability and explaining the higher bioaccumulation at high Hg concentrations. Phyto sterols decreased significantly in roots and lead to alterations of permeability membrane. α-tocopherol was detected in both organs of J. maritimus, a decrease that demonstrate an ineffective Hg contamination. This study may be a starting point for further work, namely in other marshes, in other species and with other metals. Understanding the mechanisms inherent to in heavy metal tolerance in marsh plants and the changes in lipid composition are important to detect the impact of metals in these ecosystems.