Journal of Biotechnology & Biomaterials
Open Access

Abstract

Natural processes such as volcanic eruptions, anthropogenic activities lead to emission of heavy metals in ecosystem. Brassica species have competency to absorb and sequester Se and harness to manage environmental Se contamination via phytoremediation. All the test species of Brassica (Brassica juncea, Brassica carinata, Brassica rapa PS66, Brassica rapa Toria, Brassica rapa KBS, Eruca sativa) were found to respond to Se by registering changes in the expression of antioxidative enzymes and tolerance level showed significant inhibition at higher concentration. The raised value of oxidative stress determinantslipid peroxidation and hydrogen peroxide, near 100 �¼M signified build up of stress at this concentration. Brassica rapa showed greater Se tolerance as was evident from the increased expression of glutathione peroxidase (GPX) in the treated plants, results corroborated with in gel assays for the enzymes, whereas little or no basal activity was found in the control plants. The positive correlation between Se concentration and GPX activity is suggestive for the presence of Se-dependent GPX despite the fact that most plant GPX studied so far have not been reported to require Se for their function. 2D analysis under regular and selenium stress of Brassica rapa PS66 have revealed the presence of fructose bisphosphate aldolase, GRF-1 interacting factor-3, ribulose bisphosphate carboxylase proteins. One special attribute of Brassica rapa PS66 and Toria is their ability to convert inorganic Se to volatile forms predominantly dimethylselenide (DMSe) which is 500-600 times less toxic than the available form of selenium in the environment, thus a potential benefit for selenium phytoremediation.

Biography

Email: akanksha.sao01@gmail.com