Molecular instability induced by aluminum stress in Plantago species

• The genotoxic effects of Al were evaluated in leaves and roots of two Plantago species.
• ISSRs proved to be a good tool to detect the effects of Al on DNA profiles.
• The results confirm the Al tolerance of P. almogravensis.
• The results suggest the Al tolerance of P. lagopus.
• Potential application in phytoremediation purposes.

Aluminum (Al) is one of the most abundant metals on earth's crust and Al toxicity represents one of the major factors that limit plant growth and productivity in acid soils (with a pH ≤ 5.0). In this study the mutagenic/genotoxic effects of Al were evaluated in roots and leaves of two Plantago, species, Plantago almogravensis and Plantago lagopus, using ISSRs markers. Both species were exposed to 400 μM Al during 7 and 21 days. Ten ISSR primers produced polymorphic bands. In P. almogravensis, a total of 257 and 258 bands in roots and 255 and 265 bands in leaves were produced in the presence and absence of Al, respectively. In P. lagopus were produced 279 and 278 a total bands in roots and 275 and 274 bands in leaves, under the same conditions. The changes in ISSR profiles after Al treatment were considered as gain and/or loss of bands compared with the controls. The results suggest that changes in genomic template stability (GTS) could be detected with ISSR profiles. This molecular marker proved to be a good tool to detect the effects of Al on DNA profiles. It seems that Al did not interfere significantly with DNA integrity in both species but generated less ISSR stability in P. almogravensis than in P. lagopus. The results confirm the tolerance of P. almogravensis and suggest the same behavior of P. lagopus. Although further studies are required for confirmation the Al tolerance behavior of P. lagopus, a potential application for phytoremediation can be also considered due its wide distribution.