Physiological and Histological Characterization of the ESB1 TILLING Mutant of Brassica rapa L.: Potential Use in Biofortification and Phytoremediation Programs Atero Calvo, Santiago Ríos Ruiz, Juan José Navarro León, Eloy Ruiz Sáez, Juan Manuel Blasco León, Begoña Biofortification Brassica rapa L. ESB1 Ionome Phytorremediation Root suberin This research was funded by the PAI program (Plan Andaluz de Investigación, Grupo de Investigación AGR282) and by a grant from the FPU of the Ministerio de Educación y Ciencia awarded to S.A.C., grant number FPU20/05049. The following supporting information can be downloaded at https:// www.mdpi.com/article/10.3390/agronomy13061642/s1, Figure S1: Cross-section of the WT B. rapa root unstained with FY 088. Enhanced suberin1 (ESB1) is a protein whose mutation is correlated with an increase in root suberin and altered nutrient concentrations. Here, we show a physiological and histological characterization of esb1 mutant plants of Brassica rapa L. Therefore, the potential use of this mutant in selenium (Se) biofortification and/or cadmium (Cd) phytoremediation programs was also evaluated by applying 20 & mu;M of Na2SeO4 and 0.49 & mu;M of CdCl2 to a nutrient solution. With respect to wild type (WT) plants, an increase in root suberin was observed in esb1 at the level of the exodermis. This increase in root suberin did not affect photosynthesis performance. However, the esb1 mutant showed an increase in transpiration rate and a decrease in water use efficiency. Additionally, root histological changes affected the transport and concentration of some mineral elements. Thus, our results suggest that esb1 mutants of B. rapa would not be useful for Se biofortification because no significant differences were observed between the two genotypes at the leaf level. Nevertheless, the esb1 mutant reduced Cd translocation to the leaves and increased Fe and Cu uptake, so ESB1 mutation could be useful for Cd phytoremediation and Fe and Cu biofortification, although further research is needed. Therefore, this study provides detailed information on the effect of ESB1 mutation in B. rapa and suggests its potential use in biofortification and phytoremediation programs. 2023-07-13T10:31:00Z 2023-07-13T10:31:00Z 2023-06-19 journal article Atero-Calvo, S.; Rios, J.J.; Navarro-León, E.; Ruiz, J.M.; Blasco, B. Physiological and Histological Characterization of the ESB1 TILLING Mutant of Brassica rapa L.: Potential Use in Biofortification and Phytoremediation Programs. Agronomy 2023, 13, 1642. [https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy13061642] https://hdl.handle.net/10481/83687 10.3390/agronomy13061642 eng http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ open access Atribución 4.0 Internacional MDPI