The effects of lead and manganese in soil on males and females of the dioecious herb Spinacia oleracea

Fisher, Megan, Berube, Kelly ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7471-7229, Jones, Tim ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4466-1260, Rees, B. and Sanchez Vilas, Julia ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4049-8443 2025. The effects of lead and manganese in soil on males and females of the dioecious herb Spinacia oleracea. Flora , 152879. 10.1016/j.flora.2025.152879

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Abstract

Males and females of dioecious plant species commonly differ in their morphology, physiology or life-history traits, and also in their response to environmental stress, which may lead to sex biases and eventually to population declines. Metal toxicity is an extreme case of environmental stress, where differences in tolerance between males and females have been reported before, but mainly in woody species (trees from the genus Populus). Here, we aimed to increase our understanding of the response of the sexes of dioecious species to metal stress by investigating the individual and combined effects of added Pb and Mn to the soil on the growth and physiological performance of male and female plants of the wind-pollinated herb spinach (Spinacia oleracea L). We carried out a glasshouse experiment, where male and female plants of S. oleracea were grown in soils without and with added Pb, Mn and combined Pb + Mn (added as nitrates), and with different nutrient levels (‘low’ or ‘high’ nutrients). The addition of Pb and Mn as nitrates did not have any detrimental effects on the growth, chlorophyll content, % N, %C and C/N in spinach plants. Moreover, the addition of Pb (NO3)2 and Mn (NO3)2 appears to have increased the nitrates in the soil, as shown by the improved nitrogen content found in plants growing under low nutrients. Male plants accumulated more Pb and Mn in their aboveground tissues than females, but this was not followed by greater detrimental effects on growth. Overall, this study highlights the relevance of the metal species added in causing toxic effects and points to a greater tolerance to metal stress in males of S. oleracea.

Item Type:	Article
Date Type:	Published Online
Status:	In Press
Schools:	Schools > Biosciences Schools > Earth and Environmental Sciences
Additional Information:	RRS applied for pre-print file 20/11/2025 AB
Publisher:	Elsevier
ISSN:	0367-2530
Date of First Compliant Deposit:	19 November 2025
Date of Acceptance:	14 November 2025
Last Modified:	20 Nov 2025 15:45
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/182526

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