ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Plant Sci.
Sec. Plant Abiotic Stress
This article is part of the Research TopicBiochemical and Physiological Insights into Plant Adaptation and Resilience Under Abiotic StressesView all 22 articles
Physiological, Anatomical and Molecular Responses of Glanded and Glandless Cotton to Chromium Exposure
Provisionally accepted
- 1Zhejiang University - Zhijiang Campus, Hangzhou, China
- 2Abdul Wali Khan University Mardan, Mardan, Pakistan
- 3COMSATS University Islamabad, Islamabad, Pakistan
- 4University of Kirkuk, Kirkuk, Iraq
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Cotton seeds are the major source of high-quality proteins and edible oil, but their utilization is limited due to gossypol toxicity to humans and animals. For better use of cotton as food and feed, several glandless cotton cultivars are developed; which are susceptible, to various biotic stresses. However, their resistance to abiotic stresses i.e. heavy metal has rarely been studied. In the current study the effect of different doses of chromium (Cr) 0 μM, 10 μM, 50 μM and 100 μM on physiological, anatomical and molecular aspects was investigated. Genotypic variation exists in cotton response to Cr stress. Current results revealed that Cr caused inhibition in leaves biomass, ultrastructure damages, showed large intercellular spaces, thick cell walls, distorted nucleus chloroplast and ruptured nuclear membrane. Cr affected the biochemical system and resulted in the reduction of net photosynthesis rate 69.7%, intercellular CO2 84%, and stomatal conductance 68%. Thiobarbituric acid reactive substances and H2O2 increased with the increasing Cr concentration in cotton that was relatively higher in glanded cotton. Genes expressions (GhSOD, GhPOD, GhAPX, GhCAT) encoding antioxidant enzymes in leaves were increased to maintain the activity of antioxidant compounds. It was observed from the obtained results that the antioxidant activities with GhSOD upregulated by 2.5-fold at 100 μM Cr, play a key role in mitigating Cr-induced oxidative stress might play predominant role in protection against Cr-induced oxidative stress. This study revealed the response mechanism of Cr stress in glanded and glandless cotton that might perform different mechanisms to cope with Cr toxicity.
Keywords: Antioxidant activities, Chromium (Cr), Cotton, Gene Expression, Gossypol, Leaves ultrastructure
Received: 29 Sep 2025; Accepted: 02 Dec 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 samrana, Ali, Hussain, Ali, Muhammad and Abass. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence:
Samrana samrana
Abid Ali
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