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Abstract
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Abstract Background Heavy metals toxicity threatens food safety by disrupting plant growth and development, ultimately reducing crop yield and quality. The current study for the first time investigates a phytoremediation strategy by inte
grating salicylic acid and arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi to improve lead uptake and stress tolerance in Salvia officinalis L. The experiment was conducted as a factorial based on a completely randomized design with four replications. The treatments involved three levels of lead stress (0, 100, and 200 mg kg−1 of soil) in the planting soil, which was then inoculated with either 0 or 5 g kg−1 of AMF. After 1 month, salicylic acid was sprayed at either 0 or 100 µM levels.
Results The combined application of AMF and SA effectively reduced the adverse effects of lead (Pb) stress. Accord
ing to the results of variance analysis, fresh and dry weight of shoots (shoot FW and DW), protein, hydrogen perox
ide, malondialdehyde, Zn content in root DW, and Fe in root DW were improved under Pb stress with simultaneous application of SA and AMF (p ≤ 0.01). The vitamin C, ascorbate peroxidase, superoxide dismutase, total phenolics, P content in shoot DW, K in root DW, and Fe in shoot DW positively responded to the treatment combinations (p ≤ 0.05). When subjected to Pb stress, plant shoots fresh and dry weights, and protein and vitamin C levels decreased. Other
wise, the concurrent application of AMF and SA improved those traits. The highest data for those traits was recorded in the simultaneous application of treatments without Pb stress, which increased by 46.82%, 48.91%, 31.62%, and 18.11% compared to the control, respectively (p ≤ 0.05). On the other hand, ascorbate peroxidase, superox
ide dismutase, total phenolics, hydrogen peroxide, and malondialdehyde levels were increased under Pb stress, with additional enhancement observed with both AMF inoculation and SA spraying. In addition, P and Fe elements content in the shoot DW and K, Zn, and Fe co
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