Study on the growth and photosynthetic characteristics of wheat seedlings under [C₄mim][OAc] (1-butyl-3-methyl-imidazolium acetate) with Cd²⁺ stress.

In this paper, the joint effect of 0.5 mmol·L(-1) Cd(2+) and various concentrations (50-400 mg·L(-1)) of the ionic liquid 1-butyl-3-methyl-imidazolium acetate ([C4min][OAc]) on the growth and photosynthetic performance of wheat seedlings in hydroponic culture was investigated. Seedlings grown in presence of Cd(2+) and [C4min][OAc] showed significant (p < 0.05) improvement in growth (shoot and root lengths and dry weights) and photosynthetic performance (photosynthetic rate, stomatal conductance, transpiration rate, and chlorophyll a but not chlorophyll b) compared to seedlings grown in the presence of Cd(2+) but without [C4min][OAc]. However, this only happened under the lower range of [C4min][OAc] concentrations (50-200 mg·L(-1)). In addition, significant reduction in the level of Cd(2+) was also observed in the leaf tissue of wheat seedlings grown in the presence of 0.5 mmol·L(-1) Cd(2+) and 100 mg·L(-1) [C4min][OAc]. Overall, Cd(2+) exerted a stronger inhibition than [C4min][OAc] on the growth and photosynthetic performance of wheat seedlings. However, when both Cd(2+) and [C4min][OAc] were present in the culture, the toxicity of Cd(2+) could be mitigated by lower concentrations of [C4mim][OAc]. This phenomenon could be due to [C4mim][OAc] forming metal complexes with Cd(2+), thus reducing the toxicity of Cd(2+).