Unraveling the molecular response of Brassica napus hairy roots in the active Naphthol blue-black removal: Insights from proteomic analysis

Abstract

In vitro plant cultures are able to remove and metabolise xenobiotics, making them promising tools for decontamination strategies. In this work, we evaluated Brassica napus hairy roots (HRs) to tolerate and remove high concentrations of the azo dye Naphthol Blue-Black (NBB). Experiments were performed using both growing and resting culture systems at different pHs. Reuse of HRs biomass was evaluated in successive decolourisation cycles. Proteomics was applied to understand the molecular responses likely to be involved in the tolerance and removal of NBB. The HRs tolerated up to 480 µg mL-1 NBB, and 100% removal was achieved at 180 µg mL-1 NBB after 10 days using both culture systems. Interestingly, the HRs are robust enough to be reused, showing 55-60% removal even after three reuse cycles. The highest dye removal rates were achieved during the first 2 days of incubation, as initial removal is mainly driven by passive processes. Active mechanisms are triggered later by regulating the expression of proteins with different biological functions, mainly those related to xenobiotic metabolism, such as hydrolytic and redox enzymes. These results suggest that B. napus HRs are a robust tool that could make a significant contribution to textile wastewater treatment.