Cadmium-induced oxidative stress, response of antioxidants and detection of intracellular cadmium in organs of moso bamboo (Phyllostachys pubescens) seedlings

Moso bamboo (Phyllostachys pubescens (Pradelle) Mazel ex J.Houz.) is recognized as a potential phytoremediation plant due to its huge biomass and high tolerance to environmental stresses. The objectives of this study were to investigate mechanism related to cadmium (Cd) tolerance and to evaluate Cd accumulation capacity of moso bamboo. The results of the pot experiment showed that Cd accumulation by bamboo increased with increasing the Cd levels in soil and the values in stem ranged from 28.51 to 132.13 mg kg−1. Meanwhile chlorophyll in leaves and total biomass showed a decreasing trend. The bioaccumulation factors (BAF) for roots and stem in all the treatments were more than 1.0 and the translocation factor (TF) ranged from 0.70 to 1.06. In hydroponics experiment, the concentrations of malondialdehyde (MDA) in the leaves were significantly increased in Cd treated plants as compared with control. The activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD) and peroxidase (POD) were enhanced at initial stage and then decreased consistently with the increase of Cd addition. The proline concentrations were also increased due to the presence of Cd, particularly at 25 μM Cd treatment. According to TEM-EDX analysis, the cytoplasm was the main site for accumulation of Cd in moso bamboo. On the basis of overall results, it is suggested that moso bamboo could be successfully used for the remediation of low Cd (no more than 5 mg kg−1) contaminated soils. •Phytoremediation efficiency of moso bamboo was highest at soil Cd level of 5 mg kg−1.•The maximum soil Cd concentration that moso bamboo could tolerate is 120 mg kg−1.•TEM-EDX analysis showed that the cytoplasm was the main site for Cd accumulation.•Antioxidant defense system of moso bamboo played important role in coping Cd stress.