Application of exogenous salicylic acid reduces Cd toxicity and Cd accumulation in rice

Cd pollution in farmland is becoming a serious problem because it affects the safety of rice production and human health. Salicylic acid (SA) plays crucial roles in plant development and mediates plant responses to biotic and abiotic stress. This study assessed the molecular and physiological mechanisms of SA spraying effects on Cd tolerance and Cd accumulation in rice. Spraying of 0.1 mM SA had no great effect on the agronomic traits of rice, but significantly decreased Cd accumulation in rice grains, and SA spraying increased the Cd contents in leaves (only at the mature stage) and decreased the Cd contents in panicles (only at the filling and mature stage), but had no evident impact on the Cd content of other tissues and other growth stages. SA spraying reduced Cd accumulation in rice grains by promoting the deposition and fixation of Cd in the cell wall of leaves, thus preventing Cd being transferred from leaves to rice grains at the filling stage. SA spraying also decreased Cd toxicity by reducing H2O2 and MDA accumulation and increasing the chlorophyll content in rice leaves. Furthermore, SA spraying remarkably decreased Cd accumulation in rice grains by modulating the expression level of the genes associated with Cd translocation and accumulation to control the Cd accumulation in rice. Hence, SA spraying reduced the inhibition of Cd on the plant height caused by Cd and increased the dry weight of shoots in the vegetative growth period of rice seedlings, and it reduced Cd transport from leaves to grains, thus reducing Cd content in rice. These findings provide a novel perspective and a new method for reducing Cd accumulation in rice. [Display omitted] •SA spraying reduces Cd accumulation in rice.•SA alleviates Cd toxicity.•The filling stage is the key period for SA to reduce Cd in rice grain.