Response of Lupinus albus to Pb–EDTA indicates relatively high tolerance

ABSTRACT

White lupin plants were grown in hydroponics with 0, 90 and 180 µmol L⁻¹ Pb(II) ethylenediaminetetraacetate complex for 30 days. Pb distribution (shoot/root ratio) was 0.34 and 0.46 for both Pb treatments. In the shoots, no decrease in biomass nor in photosynthetic pigment levels and no changes in the concentrations of malondialdehyde and glutathione were detected. In the roots, malondialdehyde increased by 20%, glutathione 2–3.6 times and phytochelatin concentrations 4–5 times. The high tolerance of white lupin makes it a valuable plant for phytoremediation of Pb-contaminated soil.

KEYWORDS:

• Lead translocation
• white lupin
• oxidative stress
• Pb-polluted soils
• phytostabilization

Acknowledgments

Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (project AGL2012-39715-C03-03 and project CTM2013-48697-C2-2-R) supported the economic costs of the work. The authors acknowledge the ICP-MS laboratory (SIDI–UAM) for analytical determinations, and the valuable collaboration of Jesús Gómez and Felipe Yunta. The accurate revision of the manuscript by Prof. Dr J. J. Lucena must be acknowledged.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness [grant number AGL2012-39715-C03-03], [grant number CTM2013-48697-C2-2-R], [grant number AGL2014-53771-R].