Prosopis pubescens (Screw bean mesquite) seedlings are hyper accumulators of copper

Due to health reasons, toxic metals must be removed from soils contaminated by mine tailings and smelter activities. The phytoremediation potential of Prosopis pubescens (screw bean mesquite) was examined by use of inductively-coupled plasma spectroscopy (ICP-OES). Transmission electron microscopy (...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Archives of environmental contamination and toxicology 2013-04, Vol.65 (2), p.212-223
Main Authors: Zappala, Marian N., Ellzey, Joanne T., Bader, Julia, Peralta-Videa, Jose R., Gardea-Torresdey, Jorge
Format: Article
Language:English
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Summary:Due to health reasons, toxic metals must be removed from soils contaminated by mine tailings and smelter activities. The phytoremediation potential of Prosopis pubescens (screw bean mesquite) was examined by use of inductively-coupled plasma spectroscopy (ICP-OES). Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) was used to observe ultrastructural changes of parenchymal cells of leaves in the presence of copper. Elemental analysis was utilized to localize copper within leaves. A 600 ppm copper sulfate exposure to seedlings for 24 days resulted in 31,000 ppm copper in roots, 17,000 ppm in stems, 11,000 in cotyledons and 20 ppm in the true leaves. In order for a plant to be considered a hyper accumulator, the plant must accumulate a leaf: root ratio of
ISSN:0090-4341
1432-0703
DOI:10.1007/s00244-013-9904-6