Exogenous glutathione increased lead uptake and accumulation in Iris lactea var. chinensis exposed to excess lead.

Long- and short-term hydroponic experiments were conducted to study the effect of different concentrations of exogenous glutathione (GSH) on Pb uptake, translocation, and gene expresses in Iris lactea var. chinensis exposed to excess lead (Pb). Exogenous GSH remarkedly promoted Pb uptake and translocation in long-term (14 d) experiment, and the GSH-dose-dependent increases in shoot and root Pb contents existed obviously when GSH concentrations were lower than 800 mg·L-1. The fresh weight in gradual rise in plants was observed with the increase of exogenous GSH concentration. In short-term (24 h) experiment, Pb contents in roots under Pb with L-buthionine sulfoximine (BSO, a known inhibitor of GSH biosynthesis) treatments were significantly lower than that under Pb exposure alone. The transcript levels of three genes (Ilγ-ECS, IlGS, and IlPCS) involved in GSH synthesis and metabolism, showed no significant change in expression pattern except that upregulation after 24 h of treatment with Pb and GSH in comparison with that of the single Pb treatment. Further, the level of IlGS transcript after exposure for 4 h was much higher than that of Ilγ-ECS and IlPCS transcripts. All these results obtained here suggest that exogenous GSH can increase Pb accumulation, detoxification, and translocation to the shoot.