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Nickel translocation via the phloem in the hyperaccumulator Noccaea caerulescens (Brassicaceae)

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Abstract

Aims

This study evaluated the effect of phloem translocation on Ni accumulation in the hyperaccumulator Noccaea caerulescens.

Methods

The first experiment assessed the metal and organic compound concentrations in phloem sap. Leaves were cut from plants grown in nutrient solutions added with 100 μM Ni or Zn, and then used for phloem sap extraction by means of the EDTA-stimulated exudation method. In the second experiment, 61Ni2+ was applied to old leaves as a foliar spray to assess bidirectional movement of Ni in phloem.

Results

In the first experiment, enrichment of Ni or Zn was found in phloem exudates, indicating high Ni and Zn phloem loading and translocation capacity in N. caerulescens. Amino acids, e.g. nicotianamine and histidine, were present at low concentrations in exudates, which are insufficient for Ni and Zn chelation. On the contrary, concentrations of organic acids, especially malate, were high in all treatments, which may be involved in Ni and Zn chelation in phloem. The second experiment showed that 89 % of 61Ni exported from old leaves was translocated upward to young leaves, whereas only 11 % moved downward to roots.

Conclusions

Phloem sap of N. caerulescens is enriched in Ni and malate, the majority of which moves upward to young tissues. Phloem translocation may play an important role for Ni accumulation in young leaves of N. caerulescens.

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Acknowledgments

We thank Dr. Zhang Renduo and Dr. Wang Shizhong for their constructive comments on this study. This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 41371315, No. 41225004), the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (No.15lgjc36) and Special Fund of Environmental Protection Research for Public Welfare (No. 20150937).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, 510275, People’s Republic of China

    Teng-Hao-Bo Deng, Ye-Tao Tang & Rong-Liang Qiu

  2. Laboratoire Sols et Environnement, INRA-Université de Lorraine, 2 avenue de la Forêt de Haye, TSA 40602, F-54518, Vandoeuvre-lès-Nancy Cédex, France

    Teng-Hao-Bo Deng, Antony van der Ent, Thibault Sterckeman, Guillaume Echevarria & Jean-Louis Morel

  3. Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Environmental Pollution Control and Remediation Technology, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, 510275, People’s Republic of China

    Ye-Tao Tang & Rong-Liang Qiu

  4. Centre for Mined Land Rehabilitation, Sustainable Minerals Institute, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, QLD, 4072, Australia

    Antony van der Ent

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  1. Teng-Hao-Bo Deng
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Deng, THB., Tang, YT., van der Ent, A. et al. Nickel translocation via the phloem in the hyperaccumulator Noccaea caerulescens (Brassicaceae). Plant Soil 404, 35–45 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-016-2825-1

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