Phytotoxicity and accumulation of Cu in mature and young leaves of submerged macrophyte Hydrilla verticillata (L.f.) Royle

Phytotoxicity and accumulation of Cu in mature and young leaves of submerged macrophyte Hydrilla verticillata (L.f.) Royle were investigated by analyzing the chlorophyll contents, chloroplast ultrastructure and leaf surface structure under different Cu treatments (0, 0.01, 0.05 and 0.1 f mg L−1). The results showed that 0.05 and 0.1 mg L−1 Cu treatment decreased the contents of Chl a and Chl b, and caused damage on leaf surface structure and chloroplast ultrastructure compared with control (0 mg L−1 Cu treatment). Higher concentration of Cu induced Chlorophyll decreases and the damages on the leaf surface structure and chloroplast ultrastructure were more pronounced in mature than in young leaves. It was observed that leaf Cu concentration increased almost linearly with exposure time and majority of the Cu accumulated in the cell walls. Among different cell wall fractions, the majority of Cu accumulated in cell walls was bound to the hemicellulose 1 and cellulose, followed by the pectin, hemicellulose 2. Mature leaves had significantly higher the concentrations of total Cu and bound-Cu in cell walls due to higher uronic acid content in their cell wall fractions (pectin, hemicellulose 1 and cellulose) than young leaves. Distinct cell wall composition might partially contribute to the different Cu toxicity and accumulation between mature and young leaves of submerged macrophyte H. verticillata. Our results show that mature leaves are more efficient in the uptake and accumulation of Cu than young leaves, which might explain why mature leaves sustain more severe damage.