title: Dependence of Plant Uptake and Diffusion of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons on the Leaf Surface Morphology and Micro-structures of Cuticular Waxes.
abstract: The uptake of organic chemicals by plants is considered of great significance as it impacts their environmental transport and fate and threatens crop growth and food safety. Herein, the dependence of the uptake, penetration, and distribution of sixteen polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) on the morphology and micro-structures of cuticular waxes on leaf surfaces was investigated. Plant surface morphologies and wax micro-structures were examined by scanning emission microscopy, and hydrophobicities of plant surfaces were monitored through contact angle measurements. PAHs in the cuticles and inner tissues were distinguished by sequential extraction, and the cuticle was verified to be the dominant reservoir for the accumulation of lipophilic pollutants. The interspecies differences in PAH concentrations cannot be explained by normalizing them to the plant lipid content. PAHs in the inner tissues became concentrated with the increase of tissue lipid content, while a generally negative correlation between the PAH concentration in cuticles and the epicuticular wax content was found. PAHs on the adaxial and abaxial sides of a leaf were differentiated for the first time, and the divergence between these two sides can be ascribed to the variations in surface morphologies. The role of leaf lipids was redefined and differentiated.
authors.affiliation: Department of Environmental Science, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China.|Zhejiang Provincial Key Laboratory of Organic Pollution Process and Control, Hangzhou 310058, China.|Stockbridge School of Agriculture, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, Massachusetts 01003, United States.
authors.forename: Qingqing
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Solid Waste Treatment and Resource Recycle, Ministry of Education, Southwest University of Science and Technology, Mianyang 621010, China.
authors.forename: Yungui
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Department of Environmental Science, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China.|Zhejiang Provincial Key Laboratory of Organic Pollution Process and Control, Hangzhou 310058, China.
authors.forename: Lizhong
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Zhu
authors.affiliation: Stockbridge School of Agriculture, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, Massachusetts 01003, United States.
authors.forename: Baoshan
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Xing
authors.affiliation: Department of Environmental Science, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China.|Zhejiang Provincial Key Laboratory of Organic Pollution Process and Control, Hangzhou 310058, China.
authors.forename: Baoliang
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Chen
mesh_terms: D004058:Diffusion; D004785:Environmental Pollutants / Q000378:metabolism; D008055:Lipids / Q000302:isolation & purification; D019441:Plant Epidermis / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D018515:Plant Leaves / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D010944:Plants / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D011084:Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons / Q000378:metabolism*; D013045:Species Specificity; D014885:Waxes / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D004785:Environmental Pollutants; D008055:Lipids; D011084:Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons; D014885:Waxes