Variations among rice cultivars on root oxidation and Cd uptake

In order to understand the mechanisms on the variation between rice cultivars in Cd uptake and accumulation, two pot soil experiments were conducted with typical rice cultivars that varied greatly in soil Cd uptake. The experiments with six rice cultivars showed that the root oxidation abilities of rice differed with rice cultivars and also with types of the cultivars, the cultivars with indica consanguinity were significantly higher than the cultivars with japonica consanguinity. Root oxidation abilities of the rice cultivars correlated positively and significantly (P<0.01) with their Cd concentrations and Cd quantity accumulations in rice plants. The experiments with two rice cultivars showed that significant differences also existed between the two cultivars in pot soil redox potentials, which of Shan you 63 (higher soil Cd accumulator) were significantly higher than that of Wu yun jing 7 (lower soil Cd accumulator) under different soil Cd levels, but the degrees of the differences varied with soil Cd levels. The differences were larger under soil Cd treatments than the control. The results indicate that root oxidation ability, especially in Cd contaminated soil, is one of the main mechanisms which dominate Cd uptake and accumulation by rice plant.