Abstract
To investigate the mechanisms of Ni tolerance in higher plants, we selected a Ni-tolerant cell line, termed NIT cells from tobacco BY-2 suspension cultures. NIT cells exhibited also tolerance to excessive Cu and Al, but the relationship between Cu-, Al-tolerance and Ni-tolerance has not been clarified. Within 7d exposure to 30μM CuSO4, NIT cells accumulated approximately at least 150μM Cu. When cells were treated with various concentrations of CuSO4, contents of K, Ca, Mg, Mn in NIT cells were always higher than those in wild type cells, and Fe content were increased with increase of Cu concentrations in both cell lines. These results were almost similar to the case of Ni treatments, suggesting that same mechanism of tolerance may function under excessive Ni or Cu. Al treatment was performed as in the cases of Ni and Cu, and the results will be discussed.
