Effects of uranium stress on physiological and biochemical characteristics in seedlings of six common edible vegetables

The large-scale exploitation of uranium (U) not only causes radioactive pollution to the soil, but also has a great adverse effect on human health. However, the current understanding of the effects of U stress on organisms is not deep enough. As food sources of human beings, vegetables can enrich U into the human body along the food chain. Therefore, the effects of soil U on seed germination, seedling growth and physiological and biochemical characteristics of six common edible vegetables (tomato, cucumber, kohlrabi, radish, cabbage, and spinach) were investigated. The results show that the toxicity of U to the six vegetables in sandy loam is cucumber > radish > spinach > cabbage > tomato > kohlrabi. The lower U concentration in sandy loam has certain promoting effect on seed germination and root growth. The accumulation and tolerance capacity of cucumber and radish to U in sandy loam is stronger than that of other four vegetables, which may be used as candidate species for biological treatment of U pollution. These results provide theoretical basis for clarifying the biological effects and toxicological mechanism of U pollution, and also provide theoretical basis for scientific prevention and control of soil U pollution.