Background Little is known about metabolism rates of environmental chemicals by vegetation. A good model compound to study the variation
of rates among plant species is cyanide. Vascular plants possess an enzyme system that detoxifies cyanide by converting it
to the amino acid asparagine. Knowledge of the kinetic parameters, the half-saturation constant (Km) and the maximum metabolic
capacity (vmax), is very useful for enzyme characterization and biochemical purposes. The goal of this study is to find the
enzyme kinetics (KM and vmax) during cyanide metabolism in the presence of Chinese vegetation, to provide quantitative data
for engineered phytoremediation, and to investigate the variation of metabolic rates of plants.
Methods Detached leaves (1.0 g fresh weight) from 12 species out of 9 families were kept in glass vessels with 100 mL of aqueous
solution spiked with potassium cyanide at 23°C for 28 h. Four different treatment concentrations of cyanide were used, ranging
from 0.44 to 7.69 mg CN/L. The disappearance of cyanide from the aqueous solution was analyzed spectrophotometrically. Realistic
values of the half-saturation constant (KM) and the maximum metabolic capacity (vmax) were estimated by a computer program
using non-linear regression treatments. As a comparison, Lineweaver-Burk plots were also used to estimate the kinetic parameters.
Results and Discussion The values obtained for KM and vmax varied with plant species. Using non-linear regression treatments, values of vmax and
KM were found in a range between 6.68 and 21.91 mg CN/kg/h and 0.90 to 3.15 mg CN/L, respectively. The highest vmax was by
Chinese elder (Sambucus chinensis), followed by upright hedge-parsley (Torilis japonica). The lowest vmax was demonstrated
by the hybrid willow (Salix matssudana x alba). However, the highest KM was found in the water lily (Nymphea teragona), followed
by the poplar (Populus deltoides Marsh). The lowest KM was demonstrated by corn (Zea mays L.). The values of vmax were normally
distributed with a mean of 13 mg CN/kg/h.
Conclusions Significant removal of cyanide from aqueous solution was observed in the presence of plant materials without phytotoxicity,
even at high doses of cyanide. This gives rise to the conclusion that the Chinese plant species used in this study are all
able to efficiently metabolize cyanide, although with different maximum metabolic capacities. A second conclusion is that
the variation of metabolism rates between species is small. All these plants had a similar KM, indicating the same enzyme
is active in all plants.
Recommendations and Outlook Detoxification of cyanide with trees seems to be a feasible option for cleaning soils and water contaminated with cyanide.
For phytoremediation projects, screening appropriate plant species adapted to local conditions should be seriously considered.
More chemicals should be investigated to find common principles of the metabolism of environmental chemicals by plants. 相似文献
Background Recent studies indicated that arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) play important roles in plant accumulation of uranium (U)
from contaminated environments, but the impacts of fertilization practices on functioning of the symbiotic associations, which
are crucial factors influencing plant nutrition and growth responses to mycorrhiza, have rarely been considered.
Materials and Methods In a greenhouse experiment, a bald root barley mutant (brb) together with the wild type (wt) were used to test the role of
root hairs and AMF in uranium (U) uptake by host plants from a U contaminated soil. Nil, 20 and 60 mg KH2PO4-P kg–1 soil were
included to investigate the influences of phosphorus (P) fertilization on plant growth and accumulation of U.
Results Dry matter yield of barley plants increased with increasing P additions and wt produced significantly higher dry weight than
brb. Mycorrhiza markedly improved dry matter yield of both genotypes grown at nil P, whereas only brb responded positively
to mycorrhiza at 20 mg P kg-1. At the highest P level, mycorrhiza resulted in growth depressions in both genotypes, except
for the roots of wt. In general, plant P concentrations increased markedly with increasing P additions and in response to
mycorrhiza.
Mycorrhiza and P additions had no significant effects on shoot U concentrations. However, root U concentrations in both genotypes
were significantly increased by mycorrhiza. On the other hand, shoot U contents increased with increasing P levels, while
20 mg P kg-1 stimulated, but 60 mg P kg-1 marginally affected the U accumulation in roots. Root length specific U uptake was
moderately enhanced both by root hairs and strongly enhanced by mycorrhiza. Moreover, non-inoculated plants generally had
higher shoot-root ratios of U content than the corresponding inoculated controls.
Conclusion Our study shows that AMF and root hairs improves not only P acquisition but also the root uptake of U, and mycorrhiza generally
decreases U translocation from plant root to shoot. Hence, mycorrhiza is of potential use in the phytostabilization of U contaminated
environments.
Perspectives The complex impacts of P on U accumulation by barley plants suggested that U behavior in mycorrhizosphere and translocation
along the soil-fungi-plant continuum as affected by fertilization practices deserve extensive studies for optimizing the function
of mycorrhizal associations for phytoremediation purposes. 相似文献