INVESTIGATION OF THE EFFECTS OF ALUMINUM STRESS ON SOME MACRO AND MICRO-NUTRIENT CONTENTS OF THE SEEDLINGS OF LYCOPERSICON ESCULENTUM MILL. BY USING SCANNING ELECTRON MICROSCOPE

Abstract

This study was planned to see the affect of aluminum stress on plant nutrition and metabolism. The effects of aluminum stress on uptake level of some macro- and micro-nutrients from the nutrition solution into the seedlings of Lycopersicon esculentum Mill. and on mobilization of some nutrient elements in the seedlings were examined at the level of epidermal cells. The elemental structure of root, hypocotyl and cotyledon epidermal cells were determined by Energy Dispersive Xray Microanalysis (EDX) performed in a local area ∼50 nm in diameter at the level of a single epidermal cell cytoplasm by using low vacuum (∼24 pascal ) Scanning Electron Microscope. EDX analysis revealed that aluminum content of the cells was increasing with the increased concentrations of aluminum in the nutrient solution and that aluminum largely accumulated in the roots. Aluminum concentration was much higher in the root epidermal cells of the seedlings incubated in aluminum containing media for 17 days without adding any nutrient solution; it was also true for the local EDX analysis of radicle epidermal cells from the same series. Aluminum stress was found to tend to modify the plant nutritional element content of the cells and this was particularly of critical importance in terms of some macro- and micro-nutrients. The assessments performed at the level of epidermal cells of young seedlings of Lycopersicon esculentum suggest that aluminum stress leads to an absolute change in the plant nutritional element composition of the cells and in the mobilization of some nutritional elements in the seedlings.