Combined effects of elevated temperature and CO2 concentration on Cd and Zn accumulation dynamics in Triticum aestivum L.

A simulated climate warming experiment was conducted to evaluate the combined effects of elevated temperature and CO₂ concentration on the bioaccumulation, translocation and subcellular distributions of Cd and Zn in wheat seedlings (Triticum aestivum L. cv. Xihan 1.) at Dingxi, Gansu Province, China. The objective was to find evidence that global climate change is affecting the bioaccumulation of Cd and Zn in T. aestivum L. cv. Xihan 1. The results showed that compared to control A, elevated temperature and CO₂ increased Cd bioaccumulation in the shoots by 1.4–2.5 times, and increased that in the roots by 1.2–1.5 times, but decreased Zn levels in wheat shoots by 1.4–2.0 times, while decreased that in the roots by 1.6–1.9 times. Moreover, temperature and CO₂ concentration increase also led to increased Cd concentration, and decreased Zn concentration in subcellular compartments of wheat seedlings. The largest Cd concentration increase (174.4%) was observed in the cell wall and debris fractions of shoots after they were subjected to the highest CO₂ and temperature treatment (TC3). The largest Zn concentration decrease (53.1%) was observed in the soluble (F3) fractions of shoots after they were subjected to the medium CO₂ and temperature treatment (TC2). The temperature and CO₂ increase had no significant effect on the proportional distribution of Cd and Zn in the subcellular fractions. The root-to-shoot translocation of Cd increased with the increasing temperature and CO₂ concentration. However, the Zn distributions only fluctuated within a small range.