Translational asymmetry as a sensitive indicator of cadmium stress in plants: a laboratory test with wild-type and mutant Arabidopsis thaliana.

• Translational and bilateral asymmetry have been proposed as sensitive measures of stress in plants, but few studies have addressed the asymmetry-stress association for individuals grown under strictly defined conditions. Here, we assess the impact of cadmium (Cd) stress on various asymmetry measures in a wild-type and mutant strain of Arabidopsis thaliana. • Fitness measures (fresh weight, pod count and shoot length) and developmental stability (DS) measures (bilateral asymmetry and translational asymmetry (TA)) were compared between plants grown under different cadmium concentrations. • Cadmium stress sharply increased TA in both strains but had inconsistent effects on bilateral asymmetry. The TA effects were detected at a Cd concentration when effects on growth and reproduction were not yet evident. • Translational asymmetry, but not bilateral asymmetry, may therefore act as a sensitive indicator of cadmium stress and could be used to assess soil contamination in transplanted A. thaliana.