Mercury induced oxidative stress, DNA damage, and activation of antioxidative system and Hsp70 induction in duckweed (Lemna minor)

- Hyperaccumulation of Hg accelerates the membrane lipid peroxidation in Leman minor.
- Enzymatic and non-enzymatic antioxidant system evidences the detoxification strategy.
- GTS acts as bioindicator to assess health status of L. minor.
- Hsp70 is important biomarker for Hg pollution in aquatic plants.

Mercury uptake and its effects on physiology, biochemistry and genomic stability were investigated in Lemna minor after 2 and 6 d of exposure to 0-30 μM Hg. The accumulation of Hg increased in a concentration- and duration-dependent manner, and was positively correlated with the leaf damage. Oxidative stress after Hg exposure was evidenced in L. minor by a significant decrease in photosynthetic pigments, an increase in malondialdehyde and lipoxygenase activities (total enzyme activity and isoenzymes activity). Fronds of L. minor exposed to Hg showed an induction of peroxidase, catalase, and ascorbate peroxidase activities (total enzyme activity and some isoenzymes activities). Exposure of L. minor to Hg reduced the activity (total enzyme activity and some isoenzymes activities) of glutathione reductase, and superoxide dismutase. Exposure to Hg produced a transient increase in the content of glutathione and ascorbic acid. The content of dehydroascorbate and oxidized glutathione in L. minor were high during the entire exposure period. Exposure of L. minor to Hg also caused the accumulation of proline and soluble sugars. The amplification of new bands and the absence of normal DNA amplicons in treated plants in the random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) profile indicated that genomic template stability (GTS) was affected by Hg treatment. The accumulation of Hsp70 indicated the occurrence of a heat shock response at all Hg concentrations. These results suggest that L. minor plants were able to cope with Hg toxicity through the activation of various mechanisms involving enzymatic and non-enzymatic antioxidants, up-regulation of proline, and induction of Hsp70.