Thurs. Sept. 19 //Bioremediation of arsenic and cadmium in a Populus tremula x Populus alba mutant9/16/2019
Special time and place, Room 3110 at 3:30 PM.The use of plants to remediate contaminated lands is of growing interest to the scientific community because of its ease of implementation, cost effectiveness and ability to stabilize contaminated soils. A novel Populus tremula x Populus alba mutant named fuzzy with an increased trichome density, an elevated growth rate, enhanced pest resistance and a predicted root phenotype was investigated for its ability to tolerate and accumulate arsenic and cadmium in soil. The chlorophyll, hydrogen peroxide and proline contents of fuzzy tissues were assayed, its tissue metal content was measured using ICP-MS and its wet biomass was quantified. Transgenic Arabidopsis thaliana overexpressing homologous gene of that overexpressed in the fuzzy poplar were grown on gel media and their roots were measured to corroborate the root phenotype of fuzzy poplars. The fuzzy poplar was found to have lower levels of hydrogen peroxide in its tissues after arsenic and cadmium exposure than control poplars, suggesting it has a reduced oxidative stress response when exposed to high levels of arsenic and cadmium. This low hydrogen peroxide content was not due to reduced arsenic and cadmium accumulation in fuzzy trees, as they did not accumulate different amounts of arsenic or cadmium than control plants. Proline and chlorophyll levels were not significantly different between metal treatments, or between fuzzy and control poplars. fuzzy poplars exhibited significantly higher root biomass than control poplars, and transgenic Arabidopsis thaliana overexpressing a homologous gene to the one that causes the fuzzy phenotype had significantly longer roots than control plants. All poplars exposed to arsenic and cadmium in this trial contained the majority of these compounds in their tissues in roots. The root biomass phenotype, low hydrogen peroxide content and root metal accumulation in the fuzzy poplar make it an ideal candidate for bioremediation and soil stabilization of contaminated soils.
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