Abdelilah Chaoui / Ezzeddine El Ferjani / Sondès Rahoui
Librería Samer Atenea
Kálamo Books
Librería Elías (Asturias)
Librería Kolima (Madrid)
Librería Proteo (Málaga)
Seeds of Vicia faba (subspecies major; varieties ’aguadulce’ and ’luz de otoño’, and subspecies minor; variety: ’local fava bean’) are germinated by soaking in H₂O or a Cd solution. The three varieties exhibit different germination behaviour in response to the presence of cadmium in the soaking medium. The difference in stress sensitivity cannot be explained by changes in the seeds’ water status, nor by the extent of their metal accumulation levels. Cadmium, however, affects germination metabolism by disrupting the mobilisation of cotyledon reserves, accompanied by a leakage of solutes into the imbibition medium. The imbibition medium becomes considerably enriched in sugars and amino acids, which Cd renders less available within the storage tissues. In practice, these two disruptions account, at least in part, for the vulnerability of germination to cadmium.
