Mechanisms of Boron Tolerance and Accumulation in Plants: A Physiological Comparison of the Extremely Boron-Tolerant Plant Species, Puccinellia distans, with the Moderately Boron-Tolerant Gypsophila arrostil

• Published in: Environmental science & technology 2010-09, Vol.44 (18), p.7089-7095
• Main Authors: Stiles, Amanda R, Bautista, David, Atalay, Emine, Babaoğlu, Mehmet, Terry, Norman
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adaptation, Physiological - drug effects; Animal, plant and microbial ecology; Applied ecology; Biological and medical sciences; Biomass; Bioremediation; Boron; Boron - pharmacology; Caryophyllaceae - drug effects; Caryophyllaceae - growth & development; Caryophyllaceae - physiology; Ecotoxicology, biological effects of pollution; Effects of pollution and side effects of pesticides on plants and fungi; Environmental science; Flowers & plants; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Mining; Physiology; Plant Roots - drug effects; Plant Roots - metabolism; Plant Shoots - drug effects; Plant Shoots - metabolism; Poaceae - drug effects; Poaceae - growth & development; Poaceae - physiology; Remediation and Control Technologies; Time Factors; Tissues
• ISSN: 0013-936X; 1520-5851
• DOI: 10.1021/es1016334

The physiological characteristics of the extremely boron (B)-tolerant plant species, Puccinellia distans, were compared with those of the moderately tolerant Gypsophila arrostil, two species collected from a B-mining area of Eskişehir, Turkey. Boron was supplied to plants hydroponically at B concentrations ranging from 0.5 to 50 mg B/L for G. arrostil, and from 0.5 to 2000 mg B/L for P. distans. The results show that P. distans has a strikingly greater tolerance to B than G. arrostil. While G. arrostil was unable to survive B supply concentrations greater than 50 mg B/L, P. distans grew at B supply concentrations exceeding 1250 mg B/L. Our research supports the conclusion that from 0.5 to 50 mg B/L, P. distans is better able to restrict the accumulation of B in the whole plant, and the transport of B from root to shoot, than G. arrostil. We propose that P. distans uses several strategies to achieve B tolerance including the ability to restrict the accumulation of B relative to its accumulation of biomass, the ability to restrict the transport of B from root to shoot, and, to a lesser extent, the ability to tolerate high concentrations of B in its shoot and root tissues.