AMF enhance Vicia faba antioxidant defense and suppressing Cd-Pb accumulation by intercropping with hyperaccumulator Sonchus asper
Description
The dataset encompasses the following parameters: colonization rate, spore count, dry weight, chlorophyll *a* and *b* contents, total antioxidant capacity (T-AOC), soluble protein content, total glutathione (T-GSH) content, malondialdehyde (MDA) content, sulfhydryl (-SH) content, concentrations of cadmium (Cd) and lead (Pb) in soil, roots, and shoots, as well as pH. We hypothesized: (1) The intercropping system combined with AMF inoculation would enhance photosynthetic performance and biomass production of plants grown in Cd/Pb-contaminated soils; (2) The intercropping-AMF system would reduce heavy metal uptake and accumulation in the crop species Vicia faba while simultaneously increasing Cd absorption and accumulation in the Cd-hyperaccumulator Sonchus asper; (3) The intercropping-AMF system would improve the antioxidative capacity of plants under Cd and Pb stress. We found that the intercropping-AMF combination significantly increased dry weight by 60.2% in S. asper and 88.6% in V. faba, enhanced chlorophyll content by 22.8-56.4% and antioxidant capacity by 13.5-23.7% in V. faba, while reducing malondialdehyde by 27.9-57.9%. Additionally, it reduced root Cd concentration in V. faba by 73.3% and increased root Pb accumulation in S. asper by 191%, thereby demonstrating selective metal regulation and improved phytoremediation efficiency. Structural equation modeling further identified metal contents and antioxidant capacity as the primary determinants of plant growth, revealing that the synergistic system functions by upregulating antioxidant defenses, inhibiting metal uptake in crops, and restricting harmful metal translocation.