Hyperaccumulators of metal and metalloid trace elements: Facts and fiction
Abstract:
Plants that accumulate metal and metalloid trace elements to extraordinarily high concentrations in their living biomass have inspired much research worldwide during the last decades. Hyperaccumulators have been recorded and experimentally confirmed for elements such as nickel, zinc, cadmium, manganese, arsenic and selenium. However, to date, hyperaccumulation of lead, copper, cobalt, chromium and thallium remain largely unconfirmed. Recent uses of the term in relation to rare-earth elements require critical evaluation. Since the mid-1970s the term ‘hyperaccumulator’ has been used millions of times by thousands of people, with varying degrees of precision, aptness and understanding that have not always corresponded with the views of the originators of the terminology and of the present authors. There is therefore a need to clarify the circumstances in which the term ‘hyperaccumulator’ is appropriate and to set out the conditions that should be met when the terms are used. We outline here the main considerations for establishing metal or metalloid hyperaccumulation status of plants, (re)define some of the terminology and note potential pitfalls. Unambiguous communication will require the international scientific community to adopt standard terminology and methods for confirming the reliability of analytical data in relation to metal and metalloid hyperaccumulators.read more
Citations
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Journal ArticleDOI
Cadmium, copper, lead and zinc accumulation in wild plant species near a lead smelter
TL;DR: This investigation focused specifically on cadmium (Cd), copper (Cu), lead (Pb) and zinc (Zn) accumulation in 43 wild plant species and corresponding soils near a Pb smelting contaminated area, finding significant correlations existed between plant shoot Cd and Pb concentrations and soil total and DTPA-extractable Cdand Pb.
Journal ArticleDOI
Enhancement of coral calcification via the interplay of nickel and urease.
T. Biscere,Christine Ferrier-Pagès,Renaud Grover,Antoine Gilbert,Cécile Rottier,A. Wright,Claude Payri,Fanny Houlbrèque +7 more
TL;DR: It is demonstrated in the study that a nickel enrichment alone or combined with a urea enrichment strongly stimulated urea uptake rates of the three tested species, and it can be suggested that urea, for which hotspots are regularly measured in reef waters may alleviate the negative consequences of thermal stress on corals.
Book ChapterDOI
Phytomining of rare and valuable metals
TL;DR: The advances of phytomining since its inception in the 1990s, focusing on the results obtained to date, with gold, nickel, thallium, and rhenium as mentioned in this paper.
Journal ArticleDOI
Vehicle pollution toxicity induced changes in physiology, defence system and biochemical characteristics of Calotropis procera L.
TL;DR: In this article, the physiological, biochemical and defence system responses of Calotropis procera to vehicle exhaust pollution were examined in two major regions of the US and Canada. And they selected various sample sites along two major road networks.
Journal ArticleDOI
Interactions of the manganese hyperaccumulator Phytolacca americana L. with soil pH and phosphate
TL;DR: In this paper, a thin layer of agar containing bromocresol green pH indicator dye was placed on the roots of P. americana to observe color changes indicating acidification.
References
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Terrestrial higher plants which hyperaccumulate metallic elements. a review of their distribution, ecology and phytochemistry
TL;DR: Phytochemical studies suggest that hyperaccumulation is closely linked to the mechanism of metal tolerance involved in the successful colonization of metalliferous and otherwise phytotoxic soils.
Journal ArticleDOI
Accumulators and excluders ?strategies in the response of plants to heavy metals
TL;DR: In this paper, two basic strategies of plant response are suggested, accumulators and excluders, which do not generally suppress metal uptake but result in internal detoxification, and indicators are seen as a further mode of response where proportional relationships exist between metal levels in the soil, uptake and accumulation in plant parts.
Journal ArticleDOI
A fern that hyperaccumulates arsenic
TL;DR: A hardy, versatile, fast-growing plant that helps to remove arsenic from contaminated soils.
Journal ArticleDOI
Zinc in plants
Martin R. Broadley,Philip J. White,John P. Hammond,Ivan Zelko,Ivan Zelko,Alexander Lux,Alexander Lux +6 more
TL;DR: The dominant fluxes of Zn in the soil-root-shoot continuum are described, including Zn inputs to soils, the plant availability of soluble Zn(2+) at the root surface, and plant uptake and accumulation of ZN.
Book
Phytoremediation of toxic metals : using plants to clean up the environment
Ilya Raskin,Burt D. Ensley +1 more
TL;DR: Why Use Phytoremediation?