Differential accumulation of Cd in durum wheat cultivars: uptake and retranslocation as sources of variation

Durum wheat (Triticum turgidum L. var. durum) accumulates Cd from the soil depending on various factors. When grown in hydroponic solution containing Cd (20 mug l(-1)), roots had higher tissue Cd concentrations than shoots or heads. Kyle (the higher grain-Cd accumulating cultivar) had lower root-Cd, and greater shoot-Cd and head-Cd concentrations than Arcola (the lower grain-Cd accumulating cultivar). These cultivar differences were greater at flowering and ripening than at tillering. Much of the root-Cd was lost between the flowering and ripening stages of development. Distribution of Cd-106 among plant parts, after a single 24 h feeding, demonstrated that root-to-shoot transfer of Cd in Arcola was similar to that of Kyle at tillering, but it had ceased at flowering in Arcola but not Kyle. None of the Cd in wheat heads at ripening originated from Cd-106 exposure in the previous 24 h, suggesting that grain-Cd is a function of total shoot accumulation. Both cultivars demonstrated basipetal translocation of Cd; Arcola at tillering translocated more Cd from shoots to roots than Kyle. The proportion of Cd2+/Cd-total in the nutrient solution decreased with time, suggesting that plant activity altered the solution chemistry. The alteration probably resulted from either preferential depletion of solution Cd2+ and/or addition of root exudates. Lower grain-Cd accumulation in Arcola possibly resulted from a combination of reduced root-to-shoot transfer of Cd at flowering, as well as enhanced shoot-to-root retranslocation of Cd, at least in younger plants. Plant-mediated changes in solution-Cd speciation did not play a role.