Comparison of arsenic resistance in Mediterranean woody shrubs used in restoration activities.
Myrtus communis, Arbutus unedo and Retama sphaerocarpa are Mediterranean shrubs widely used in revegetation of semiarid degraded soils. The aim of this work is to study the resistance of these plants to arsenic under controlled conditions, in order to evaluate their potential use in revegetation and/or phytoremediation of As-polluted soils. R. sphaerocarpa showed higher resistance to As than M. communis or A. unedo according to its higher EC50, P status and P/As molar ratio in both, roots and shoots, and the lower increases in lipid peroxidation and decrease of chlorophyll levels in response to arsenic, while the highest arsenate sensitivity was obtained for A. unedo. Arsenic was mainly retained in roots, and, although M. communis accumulated higher arsenic amounts than the other two species, R. sphaerocarpa showed the highest root to shoot transfer. Most of the studied parameters (chlorophylls, MDA and total thiols) showed significant correlation with arsenic concentration in roots and leaves of plants, so they can be useful indexes in the diagnosis of arsenic toxicity in these species. According to our results, both M. communis and R. sphaerocarpa could be used in the revegetation of moderately arsenic contaminated sites.
Departamento de Química Agrícola, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, 28049 Madrid, Spain.
Eduardo
E
Moreno-Jiménez
Jesús M
JM
Peñalosa
Ramón O
RO
Carpena-Ruiz
Elvira
E
Esteban
D001151:Arsenic / Q000378:metabolism / Q000633:toxicity*; D001673:Biodegradation, Environmental; D002734:Chlorophyll / Q000378:metabolism; D000077194:Chlorophyll A; D004361:Drug Tolerance; D029791:Ericaceae / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000254:growth & development / Q000378:metabolism; D007887:Fabaceae / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000254:growth & development / Q000378:metabolism; D008315:Malondialdehyde / Q000378:metabolism; D031651:Myrtus / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000254:growth & development / Q000378:metabolism; D010758:Phosphorus / Q000378:metabolism; D018515:Plant Leaves / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism; D018517:Plant Roots / Q000187:drug effects / Q000254:growth & development / Q000378:metabolism; D018520:Plant Shoots / Q000187:drug effects / Q000254:growth & development / Q000378:metabolism; D012989:Soil Pollutants / Q000378:metabolism / Q000633:toxicity*; D013438:Sulfhydryl Compounds / Q000378:metabolism
D012989:Soil Pollutants; D013438:Sulfhydryl Compounds; D002734:Chlorophyll; D010758:Phosphorus; D008315:Malondialdehyde; D001151:Arsenic; D000077194:Chlorophyll A