Abstract
Several studies have demonstrated that selenium (Se) at low concentrations is beneficial, whereas high Se concentrations can induce toxicity. Controlling Se uptake, metabolism, translocation and accumulation in plants is important to decrease potential health risks and helping to select proper biofortification methods to improve the nutritional content of plant-based foods. The uptake and distribution of Se, changes in Se content, and effects of various concentrations of Se in two forms (sodium selenite and sodium selenate) on sunflower and maize plants were measured in nutrient solution experiments. Results revealed the Se content in shoots and roots of both sunflower and maize plants significantly increased as the Se level increased. In this study, the highest exposure concentrations (30 and 90 mg/L, respectively) caused toxicity in both sunflower and maize. While both Se forms damaged and inhibited plant growth, each behaved differently, as toxicity due to selenite was observed more than in the selenate treatments. Sunflower demonstrated a high Se accumulation capacity, with higher translocation of selenate from roots to shoots compared with selenite. Since in seleniferous soils, a high change in plants’ capability exists to uptake Se from these soils and also most of the cultivated crop plants have a bit tolerance to high Se levels, distinction of plants with different Se tolerance is important. This study has tried to discuss about it.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Barman SC, Sahu RK, Bhargava SK, Chatterjee C (2000) Distribution of heavy metals in wheat, mustard, and weed grown in fields irrigated with industrial effluents. Bull Environ Contam Toxicol 64:489–496
Broadley MR, White PJ, Bryson RJ, Meacham MC, Bowen HC, Johnson SE, Hawkesford MJ, McGrath SP, Zhao FJ, Breward N, Harriman M, Tucker M (2006) Biofortification of UK food crops with selenium. Proc Nutr Soc 65:169–118
Broadley MR, Alcock J, Alford J, Cartwright P, Foot I, Fairweather-Tait SJ et al (2010) Selenium biofortification of high-yielding winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) by liquid or granular Se fertilisation. Plant Soil 332:5–18
Cakmak I, Marschner H (1990) Decrease in nitrate uptake and increase in proton release in zinc deficient cotton, sunflower and buckwheat plants. Plant Soil 129:261–268
Dhillon KS, Dhillon SK, Dogra R (2010) Selenium accumulation by forage and grain crops and volatilization from seleniferous soils amended with different organic materials. Chemosphere 78:548–556
Funes-Collado V, Morell-Garcia A, Rubio R, López-Sánchez JF (2013) Selenium uptake by edible plants from enriched peat. Sci Hortic 164:428–433
Guerrero B, Llugany M, Palacios O, Valiente M (2014) Dual effects of different selenium species on wheat. Plant Physiol Biochem 83:300–307
Gupta UC (1995) Effects of Selcote Ultra and sodium selenate (laboratory versus commercial grade) on selenium concentration in feed crops. J Plant Nutr 18:1629–1636
Hartikainen H (2005) Biogeochemistry of selenium and its impact on food chain quality and human health. J Trace Elem Med Biol 18:309–318
Hartikainen H, Xue T, Piironen V (2000) Selenium as an antioxidant and pro-oxidant in ryegrass. Plant Soil 225:193–200
Hawrylak-Nowak B (2008) Effect of selenium on selected macronutrients in maize plants. J Elementol 13:513–519
Hawrylak-Nowak B, Matraszek R, Pogorzelec M (2015) The dual effects of two inorganic selenium forms on the growth, selected physiological parameters and macronutrients accumulation in cucumber plants. Acta Physiol Plant 37:41
Kabata-Pendias E (2011) Trace elements in soils and plants, 4th edn. Taylor & Francis Group, Boca Raton
Kahle H (1988) The effects of lead and cadmium on the growth and mineral balance of young beech Fagus Sylvatica L. in sand culture. Dissertationes Botanicae 127. J Cramer, Berlin
Kakkar RK, Sawhney VK (2002) Polyamine research in plants-a changing perspective. Physiol Plant 116:281–292
Kovács B, Győri Z, Prokisch J, Loch J, Dániel P (1996) A study of plant sample preparation and inductively coupled plasma emission spectrometry parameters. Commun Soil Sci Plant Anal 27:1177–1198
Longchamp M, Angeli N, Castrec-Rouelle M (2011) Uptake of selenate and/or selenite in hydroponically grown maize plants and interaction with some essential elements (calcium, magnesium, zinc, iron, manganese, and copper). Selenium (Global perspectives of impacts on humans, animals and the environment. Suzhou, China, pp 83–89
Longchamp M, Angeli N, Castrec-Rouelle M (2012) Selenium uptake in Zea mays supplied with selenate or selenite under hydroponic conditions. Plant Soil 362:107–117
Pezzarossa B, Remorini D, Gentile MI, Massai R (2012) Effects of foliar and fruit addition of selenium selenate on selenium accumulation and fruit quality. J Sci Food Agric 92:781–786
Puskás-Preszner A, Kovács B (2009) Effect of molybdenum treatment in a long-term field experiment influencing on the element uptake of plant and molybdenum fractions of soil. Agrártudományi Közlemények 36:117–122
Reilly C (2006) Selenium in Food and Health, 2nd edn. Springer, New York
Shen L, Van Dyck K, Luten J, Deelstra H (1997) Diffusibility of selenate, selenite, seleno-methionine, and seleno-cystine during simulated gastrointestinal digestion. Biol Trace Elem Res 58:55–63
Sigrist M, Brusa L, Campagnoli D, Beldomenico H (2012) Determination of selenium in selected food samples from Argentina and estimation of their contribution to the Se dietary intake. Food Chem 134:1932–1937
SPSS 19.0 software (2010) http://www.ibm.com
Sun HJ, Rathinasabapathi B, Wu B, Luo J, Pu LP, QMa L (2014) Arsenic and selenium toxicity and their interactive effects in humans. Environ Int 69:148–158
Tinggi U (2003) Essentiality and toxicity of selenium and its status in Australia: a review. Toxicol Lett 137:103–110
Turakainen M, Hartikainen H, Seppanen MM (2004) Effects of selenium treatments on potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) growth and concentrations of soluble sugars and starch. J Agric Food Chem 52:5378–5382
Valle G, McDowell LR, Prichard DL, Chenoweth PJ, Wright DL, Martin FG, Kunkle WE, Wilkinson NS (2002) Selenium concentration of fescue and bahia grasses after applying a selenium fertilizer. Commun Soil Sci Plant Anal 33:1461–1472
Weiller M, Latta M, Kresse M, Lucas R, Wendel A (2004) Toxicity of nutritionally available selenium compound in primary and transformed hepatocytes. Toxicology 201:21–30
Xue TL, Hartikainen H, Piironen V (2001) Antioxidative and growth-promoting effects of selenium on senescing lettuce. Plant Soil 237:55–61
Zayed A, Lytle CM, Terry N (1998) Accumulation and volatilization of different chemical species of selenium by plants. Planta 206:284–292
Acknowledgments
We would like to thank Associate Professor Dr. Troy B. Wiwczaroski, Ph.D. (University of Debrecen, Hungary) for the critical English editing of the manuscript.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Garousi, F., Veres, S. & Kovács, B. Comparison of Selenium Toxicity in Sunflower and Maize Seedlings Grown in Hydroponic Cultures. Bull Environ Contam Toxicol 97, 709–713 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00128-016-1912-6
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00128-016-1912-6