title: Polyaspartate, a biodegradable chelant that improves the phytoremediation potential of poplar in a highly metal-contaminated agricultural soil.
abstract: Phytoremediation is a cost-effective and environment friendly in situ technique for the reclamation of heavy metal-polluted soils. The efficacy of this technique, which relies on tolerant plant species, can be improved by the use of chelating agents. A pot experiment was carried out to evaluate the phytoextraction and phytostabilisation capacities of a white poplar (Populus alba L.) clone named AL35 previously selected for its marked tolerance to copper (Cu) and zinc (Zn). Cuttings were grown on agricultural soil highly contaminated with Cu and Zn, in the presence or not (controls) of a chelant mixture (EDTA/EDDS) known to enhance metal bioavailability and, hence, uptake by plant roots, or the not yet investigated synthetic, highly biodegradable polyaspartic acid (PASP). Both chelant treatments improved the phytostabilisation of Cu and Zn in AL35 plants, whilst the phytoextraction capacity was enhanced only in the case of Cu. Considering that the effectiveness of PASP as phytostabilizer was comparable or better than that of EDTA/EDDS, the low cost of its large-scale chemical synthesis and its biodegradability makes it a good candidate for chelant-enhanced metal phytoextraction from soil while avoiding the toxic side-effects previously described for both EDTA and EDDS.
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Chimica e Biologia, Università di Salerno, Via Giovanni Paolo II 132, 84085 Fisciano, Italy.
authors.forename: Guido
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Lingua
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Chimica e Biologia, Università di Salerno, Via Giovanni Paolo II 132, 84085 Fisciano, Italy.
authors.forename: Valeria
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Todeschini
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Scienze e Innovazione Tecnologica, Università del Piemonte Orientale, Via Teresa Michel 11, 15121 Alessandria, Italy.
authors.forename: Michele
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Grimaldi
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Scienze e Innovazione Tecnologica, Università del Piemonte Orientale, Via Teresa Michel 11, 15121 Alessandria, Italy.
authors.forename: Daniela
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Baldantoni
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Scienze e Innovazione Tecnologica, Università del Piemonte Orientale, Via Teresa Michel 11, 15121 Alessandria, Italy.
authors.forename: Antonio
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Proto
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Scienze e Innovazione Tecnologica, Università del Piemonte Orientale, Via Teresa Michel 11, 15121 Alessandria, Italy.
authors.forename: Angela
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Cicatelli
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Scienze Biologiche, Geologiche e Ambientali, Università di Bologna, Via Irnerio 42, 40126 Bologna, Italy.
authors.forename: Stefania
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Biondi
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Scienze Agrarie, Università di Bologna, Viale Fanin, 46, 40127 Bologna, Italy.
authors.forename: Patrizia
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Torrigiani
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Scienze e Innovazione Tecnologica, Università del Piemonte Orientale, Via Teresa Michel 11, 15121 Alessandria, Italy. Electronic address: scastiglione@unisa.it.
authors.forename: Stefano
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Castiglione
mesh_terms: D001673:Biodegradation, Environmental; D002614:Chelating Agents / Q000378:metabolism*; D003300:Copper / Q000378:metabolism; D004492:Edetic Acid / Q000378:metabolism*; D052918:Environmental Restoration and Remediation / Q000379:methods*; D005029:Ethylenediamines / Q000378:metabolism*; D010455:Peptides / Q000378:metabolism*; D032107:Populus / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D012989:Soil Pollutants / Q000378:metabolism*; D013386:Succinates / Q000378:metabolism*; D015032:Zinc / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: C499100:(S,S)-ethylenediaminedisuccinate; D002614:Chelating Agents; D005029:Ethylenediamines; D010455:Peptides; D012989:Soil Pollutants; D013386:Succinates; C017645:polyaspartate; D003300:Copper; D004492:Edetic Acid; D015032:Zinc
keywords: Chelant; Copper; EDTA/EDDS; Phytoremediation; White poplar; Zinc