Shoot accumulation of several trace elements in native plant species from contaminated soils in the Peruvian Andes
Abstract Metal mining gives access to very important resources but contributes to severe and diverse environmental problems. Until recently, little has been known about the remediation of mining sites in Latin America using metallophytes. The present study was designed to identify and characterize spontaneously growing heavy metal tolerant plant species in the area around the polymetallic Carolina mine in Hualgayoc (Cajamarca, Peru). The aim was to find species that are potentially useful for phytoremediation. Plants and soils were sampled and analysed for concentrations of As, Fe, Mn, Pb, Zn and Ti. The Translocation Factor (TF) and the Bioaccumulation Factor (BF) were determined and used …
Accumulation of Pb and Zn in Bidens triplinervia and Senecio sp. spontaneous species from mine spoils in Peru and their potential use in phytoremediation
Abstract Heavy metal toxicity has become a global concern due to the ever-increasing contamination of soil, water and crops. Until recent decades little has been known about the remediation of mining sites using spontaneous plants in Latin America. Soil and plant samples were taken in Peru, at a polymetallic mine (mainly silver, lead and copper) in Cajamarca Province, Hualgayoc district. Top soils (0–20 cm) were analyzed for physical and chemical properties by standard methods. Total Pb and Zn concentrations in top soils were determined by ICP-OES. Similar metals in plants were analyzed separately (aerial and root system). Ti content was used as an indicator for contamination of plant sampl…
Calcium- and potassium-permeable plasma membrane transporters are activated by copper inArabidopsisroot tips: linking copper transport with cytosolic hydroxyl radical production
Transition metals such as copper can interact with ascorbate or hydrogen peroxide to form highly reactive hydroxyl radicals (OH . ), with numerous implications to membrane transport activity and cell metabolism. So far, such interaction was described for extracellular (apoplastic) space but not cytosol. Here, a range of advanced electrophysiological and imaging techniques were applied to Arabidopsis thaliana plants differing in their copper-transport activity: Col-0, high-affinity copper transporter COPT1-overexpressing (C1 OE ) seedlings, and T-DNA COPT1 insertion mutant ( copt1 ). Low Cu concentrations (10 μ m) stimulated a dose-dependent Gd 3+ and verapamil sensitive net Ca 2+ influx in …