Multi-omics analysis of Nicotiana tabacum unveils tissue-specific regulatory expression strategies for cadmium accumulation

Cadmium accumulation in agricultural and industrial soils necessitates the exploration of effective phytoremediation strategies. Tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum L.), a high-biomass cash crop, exhibits remarkable capacity of cadmium accumulation. However, the underlying molecular mechanisms remain poorly understood. This study employed integrated transcriptome and proteome analyses to investigate gene and protein expression profiles in tobacco shoots and roots under short-term Cd exposure. Our results showed that root cells upregulated cell wall synthesis proteins, leading to cell wall thickening and restricting cadmium transporter proteins, thereby isolating cadmium ions in the apoplast. Conversely, shoot cells exhibit a significant increase in vacuolar transporter expression, facilitating cadmium compartmentalization and mitigating cadmium toxicity. These findings highlight the tissue-synergistic accumulation strategies employed by tobacco, revealing a different molecular regulatory mechanism for cadmium accumulation at the tissue level. [Display omitted] •Cadmium exposure triggered synergistic changes in tobacco shoot and root cell transcriptomes and proteomes.•Root cells enhanced cell wall biosynthesis to bind and sequester cadmium ions.•Shoot cells upregulated vacuole-localized proteins to compartmentalize cadmium ions within cells.•Transporter proteins showed distinct expression patterns in shoot and root cells.