ROS-Scavenging Enzymes as an Antioxidant Response to High Concentration of Anthracene in the Liverwort Marchantia polymorpha L

SPINEDI, NAHUEL; STORB, ROMINA; ARANDA, ELISABET; ROMANI, FACUNDO; SVRIZ, MAYA; VARELA, SANTIAGO A.; MORENO, JAVIER E.; FRACCHIA, SEBASTIAN; CABRERA, JUAN; BATISTA-GARCÍA, RAMÓN ALBERTO; PONCE DE LEÓN, INÉS; SCERVINO, J. MARTÍN

Plants

MDPI

Lugar: basel; Año: 2021 vol. 10

Abstract: Marchantia polymorpha L. responds to environmental changes using a myriad set of physiologicalresponses, some unique to the lineage related to the lack of a vascular- and root-system. Thisstudy investigates the physiological response of M. polymorpha to high doses of anthracene analysingthe antioxidant enzymes and their relationship with the photosynthetic processes, as well as theirtranscriptomic response. We found an anthracene dose-dependent response reducing plant biomassand associated to an alteration of the ultrastructure of a 23.6% of chloroplasts. Despite a reduction intotal thallus-chlorophyll of 31.6% of Chl a and 38.4% of Chl b, this was not accompanied by a significantchange in the net photosynthesis rate and maximum quantum efficiency (Fv/Fm). However, wefound an increase in the activity of main ROS-detoxifying enzymes of 34.09% of peroxidase and 692%of ascorbate peroxidase, supported at transcriptional level with the upregulation of ROS-relateddetoxifying responses. Finally, we found that M. polymorpha tolerated anthracene-stress under thelowest concentration used and can suffer physiological alterations under higher concentrations testedrelated to the accumulation of anthracene within plant tissues. Our results show that M. polymorphaunder PAH stress condition activated two complementary physiological responses including theactivation of antioxidant mechanisms and the accumulation of the pollutant within plant tissues tomitigate the damage to the photosynthetic apparatus.