Interactive effects of cadmium and carbon nanotubes on the growth and metal accumulation in a halophyte Spartina alterni
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ORIGINAL PAPER
Interactive effects of cadmium and carbon nanotubes on the growth and metal accumulation in a halophyte Spartina alterniflora (Poaceae) Minwei Chai • Fuchen Shi • Ruili Li Limin Liu • Yue Liu • Fuchun Liu
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Received: 31 August 2012 / Accepted: 24 April 2013 / Published online: 3 May 2013 Ó Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht 2013
Abstract A study quantifying the interactive effects of cadmium (Cd) and carbon nanotubes (CNTs) on plant growth and Cd accumulation of pot-cultured Spartina alterniflora was conducted. The experiment consisted of two Cd levels (50, 200 mg kg-1) as well as two CNTs levels (800, 2,400 mg kg-1). As expected, CNTs alleviated higher Cd stress (200 mg kg-1) due to restored shoot growth reduction, retrieved water content and resumed plant height. Furthermore, CNTs mitigated the deleterious effects of Cd stress through improving K? and Ca2? contents, while reducing Na?/K? and Na?/Ca2? ratios, regardless of the level of Cd stress. The proline contents in combined Cd and CNTs treatments were lower than Cd alone, suggesting that CNTs could reduce production of
M. Chai (&) F. Shi College of Life Sciences, Nankai University, Weijin Road 94, Tianjin 300071, China e-mail: [email protected] F. Shi e-mail: [email protected] M. Chai R. Li (&) School of Environment and Energy, Shenzhen Graduate School, Peking University, Shenzhen 518055, China e-mail: [email protected] L. Liu Environmental Health Management Center of Tianjin Port, Tianjin 300450, China Y. Liu College of Chemistry, Tianjin Normal University, Tianjin 300387, China F. Liu College of Life Sciences, Cangzhou Normal University, Cangzhou 061001, China
organic solutes under Cd stress. The results also showed higher Cd accumulation in roots than shoots, and both were improved by CNTs, except inhibition in roots under higher Cd stress (200 mg kg-1). It appears that CNTs may not significantly affect negative Cd effects on growth of S. alterniflora, but improve total Cd accumulation under lower Cd stress (50 mg kg-1). However, under higher Cd stress (200 mg kg-1), CNTs restored the reduced plant growth, improved and reduced Cd accumulation in shoots and roots, respectively. Therefore, the effects of CNTs on plant growth and Cd accumulation are different, and levels of Cd stress should be considered when evaluating the combined application of CNTs and S. alterniflora on phytoremediation of Cd pollution. Keywords Carbon nanotubes Cd stress Plant growth Metal accumulation Spartina alterniflora Abbreviations CNTs Carbon nanotubes Cd Cadmium
Introduction Due to continuous urbanization and industrial development, large areas of soils have been contaminated by heavy metals, which are not biodegradable and can be accumulated in soil and sediments for a long time via several pathways, including disposal of liquid effluent, terrestrial run-off, and atmospheric deposition (Fritsch et al. 2010; Varun et al. 2011). As an important heavy metal contaminant, cadmium (Cd) poses a potential hazard to human health by enterin
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