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Activity of low-molecular weight components of Larix sibirica antioxidant system under exposure to technogenic pollution

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Abstract

Changes in the antioxidant protection system of Larix sibirica Ledeb at different pollution levels caused by emissions from a large aluminum smelter (BrAS) have been studied. We revealed that the content of peroxide (H2O2) in the needles is a reliable marker of oxidative stress in the trees under pollution. The crucial role of non-enzymatic components, in particular, proline, phenolic compounds, ascorbic acid, glutathione, in reducing the level of free radicals in the needles cells was found. Proline concentration in the needles significantly rises with the increase in pollution levels from low to high. Under critical level pollution, it decreases by 40% compared to the background. The total content of ascorbic acid (ASC) in the needles of polluted trees varies slightly; however, there are significant changes in its various forms. With an increase in pollution to a high level, the content of the reduced form of ASC in the needles increases by 1.5–2.9 times compared to the background content. At a critical level of pollution, the total level of ascorbic acid and its reduced form falls, the content of the oxidized form reaches minimum values. The total content of phenolic compounds in the needles increased by 50–55%, concentration of flavonoids by 1.5–1.8 times, catechins by 1.9–2.5 times, proanthocyanidins by 45% compared to the background level under low, moderate, high pollution, whereas under critical pollution their content decreased. The absolute concentration of the reduced form glutathione in the needles falls by 1.9–3.0 times, the oxidized form increases by 1.5–2.0 times compared to the background. The ratio of reduced glutathione to oxidized glutathione decreased, especially during critical pollution. The data obtained show significant activation of Siberian larch biochemical protection at low, moderate and high levels of pollution by the aluminum smelter emissions. At a critical levels of contamination, a significant depletion of the pool of low-molecular antioxidants was observed.

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Funding

The research was carried out with the financial support of the Russian Foundation for Basic Research and the Government of the Irkutsk Region within the framework of the scientific project No. 20-44-380009.

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All authors contributed to the study conception and design. OVK: conceptualization, methodology, writing original draft, visualization, project administration, funding acquisition, LVA: validation, investigation, TAM: reviewing and editing, NVF: data curation, formal analysis. The first draft of the manuscript was written by OVK and all authors commented on previous versions of the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

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Correspondence to Larisa Vladimirovna Afanasyeva.

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The authors declare no competing interests.

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The research article ensures objectivity and transparency in research and secures that accepted principles of ethical and professional conduct have been followed. This original research article does not contain any studies with human participants and animals performed by any of the authors.

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Kalugina, O.V., Afanasyeva, L.V., Mikhailova, T.A. et al. Activity of low-molecular weight components of Larix sibirica antioxidant system under exposure to technogenic pollution. Ecotoxicology 31, 1492–1505 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10646-022-02607-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10646-022-02607-6

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