Experimental study reveals that sodium chloride rescues growth and boosts cesium uptake in quinoa under cesium stress, indicating viable soil phytoremediation strategies.
Key Points
To determine whether sodium chloride application restores quinoa growth and enhances cesium absorption under cesium stress, and to evaluate the role of leaf epidermal bladder cells.
Treated quinoa plants with cesium chloride (CsCl) both alone and alongside sodium chloride (NaCl).
Assessed plant growth and measured cesium, potassium, and sodium distributions between interior leaf cells and surface epidermal bladder cells.
CsCl treatment inhibited plant growth without reducing leaf cell potassium levels, and this growth suppression was fully reversed by concomitant NaCl application.
Leaf epidermal bladder cells maintained higher levels of cesium and potassium than interior leaf cells across treatments, confirming their role as accumulation sites.
NaCl treatment produced higher sodium levels inside leaf cells than in epidermal bladder cells, showing that bladder cells do not serve as the main driver of salt tolerance.