Relationship between heavy fuel oil phytotoxicity and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon contamination in Salicornia fragilis.
Greenhouse experiments were carried out to study the effects of heavy fuel oil contamination on the growth and the development of Salicornia fragilis Ball and Tutin, a salt-marsh edible species. Plants were sampled in spring at the "Aber du Conquet" (Finistère, France), and artificially exposed by coating shoot sections with N degrees 6 fuel oil or by mixing it in their substratum. The impact of petroleum on plant development was followed by phytotoxicity assessments and PAH shoots assays. The plants exhibited visual symptoms of stress, i.e. chlorosis, yellowing, growth reduction and perturbations in developmental parameters. The contamination of plants by shoot coating appeared to be less than through soil. Moreover, the increase of the degree of pollution induced more marked effects on plants, likely because of the physical effects of fuel. However, bioaccumulation of PAHs in shoot tissues was also found to be significant, even at very low levels of contamination, and highly related to the conditions of exposure to oil. The strong relationships between the PAH contents of Salicornia plants and growth reduction suggest a chemical toxicity of fuel oil, compounds like PAHs being known to inhibit physiological processes in plants.
Meudec
Anna
A
Laboratoire d'Ecophysiologie et de Biotechnologie des Halophytes et des Algues Marines (LEBHAM), UPRES EA 3877, Institut Universitaire Européen de la Mer, Université de Bretagne Occidentale, Technopôle Brest Iroise, France. anna.meudec@univ-brest.fr
Poupart
Nathalie
N
Dussauze
Jacques
J
Deslandes
Eric
E
D019663:Chenopodiaceae / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000254:growth & development / Q000378:metabolism; D004785:Environmental Pollutants / Q000378:metabolism / Q000633:toxicity*; D005648:Fuel Oils; D018517:Plant Roots / Q000187:drug effects / Q000254:growth & development / Q000378:metabolism; D018520:Plant Shoots / Q000187:drug effects / Q000254:growth & development / Q000378:metabolism; D011084:Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons / Q000378:metabolism / Q000633:toxicity*; D012987:Soil
D004785:Environmental Pollutants; D005648:Fuel Oils; D011084:Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons; D012987:Soil