Heavy metal (Pb,Zn) uptake and chemical changes in rhizosphere soils of four wetland plants with different radial oxygen loss

Lead and Zn uptake and chemical changes in rhizosphere soils of four emergent-rooted wetland plants;Aneilema bracteatum,Cyperus alternifolius,Ludwigia hyssopifolia and Veronica serpyllifolia were investigated by two experiments：（1） rhizobag filled with ＂clean＂ or metal-contaminated soil for analysis of Pb and Zn in plants and rhizosphere soils;and （2） applied deoxygenated solution for analyzing their rates of radial oxygen loss （ROL）.The results showed that the wetland plants with different ROL rates had significant effects on the mobility and chemical forms of Pb and Zn in rhizosphere under flooded conditions.These effects were varied with different metal elements and metal concentrations in the soils.Lead mobility in rhizosphere of the four plants both in the ＂clean＂ and contaminated soils was decreased,while Zn mobility was increased in the rhizosphere of the ＂clean＂ soil,but decreased in the contaminated soil.Among the four plants,V.serpyllifolia,with the highest ROL,formed the highest degree of Fe plaque on the root surface,immobilized more Zn in Fe plaque,and has the highest effects on the changes of Zn form （EXC-Zn） in rhizosphere under both ＂clean＂ and contaminated soil conditions.These results suggested that ROL of wetland plants could play an important role in Fe plaque formation and mobility and chemical changes of metals in rhizosphere soil under flood conditions.

Can phosphate compounds be used to reduce the plant uptake of Pb and resist the Pb stress in Pb-contaminated soils?

The effects of different phosphate-amendments on lead （Pb） uptake, the activities of superoxide dismutase （SOD） and the level of malondialdehyde （MDA） in cauliflower （Brassica oleracea L.） in contaminated soils with 2500, or 5000 mg P2O5/kg soil of hydroxyapatite （HA）, phosphate rock （PR）, single-superphosphate （SSP） and the mix of HA/SSP （HASSP） were evaluated in pot experiments. Results showed that the Pb concentrations in shoots and roots decreased by 18.3%-51.6% and 16.8%-57.3% among the treatments respectively compared to the control samples. The efficiency order of these phosphate-amendments in reducing Pb uptake was as follows： HASSP= HA 〉 SSP ,= PR. With the addition of SSP, HA and the mix of HA/SSP, the SOD activity in shoot was reduced markedly （P 〈 0.05） compared with that in the control group. For example, the SOD activities in shoot by the treatments of HASSP, SSP, and HA in 5000 mg P2O5/kg were found to be only 51.3%, 56.2%, and 56.7%, respectively. Similar effects were also observed on the level of MDA in the shoots with a decrease in 24.5%-56.3%. The results verified the inference that phosphate compounds could be used to reduce the plant uptake of Pb and resist the Pb stress in the plant vegetated in Pb-contaminated soils.

Response of Rice Varieties to Bound Residues of Metsulfuron-Methyl in a Paddy Soil

Metsulfuron 甲基是广泛地使用的 sulfonylurea 除草剂之一。然而，近似，应用 metsulfuron 甲基的一半可以是在土壤绑了残余留下。为了描绘大米的反应，到在土壤， acetolactate synthase (ALS ) 的活动，超级氧化物 dismutase (草皮) ，过氧化物酶(邮政部门) ，和过氧化氢酶(猫) 的剩余 metsulfuron 甲基的植物在在危险性不同到除草剂的二个大米变化被调查。在在 Xiushui 63 的叶子和根的这些酶的活动的变化，一个敏感米饭变化，比在抗性品种 Zhenong 952 的那些大。不管变化，在酶活动的变化比在叶子在根是更大的。ALS 和猫的活动减少了，当 SOD 活动随土壤的 metsulfuron 甲基(BRM ) 的界限残余的数量的增加增加了时。邮政部门活动在 0.025 mg kg 的 BRM 水平增加了 ? 1，但是在 0.05 mg kg 的 BRM 水平减少了 ? 1。结果证明 sulfonylurea 除草剂的界限残余可以影响米饭植物的新陈代谢。

Improvement of wheat drought and salt tolerance by expression of a stress- inducible transcription factorGmDREB of soybean (Glycinemax)

Under stress conditions such as droughthigh-salinity and low-temperature, the transcription factorof DREB (dehydration responsive element binding proteins)improved efficiently stress resistance by regulating the ex-pression of its downstream genes with various environmentastress resistance in plants. GmDREB gene (GenBank Acces-sion No. AF514908) encoding a stress-inducible transcriptionfactor was cloned by screening a cDNA library of Glycinemax cv. Jinong 27 with yeast one-hybrid method. GmDREBgene was 910 bp in length and encoded 174 amino acids con-taining a conserved AP2/EREBP DNA-binding domain of 58amino acids. Two conserved functional amino acids, valineand glutamic acid, were located on the 14th and the 19thamino acid residues in the conserved structural domain. Analkaline amino acid region (KKR) related to a nuclear local-ization signal was at the N-terminal, while an acidic aminoacid region (DDD) related to trans-activation was at theC-terminal. Plant expression vectors were constructed andtransformed into wheat by bombardment. In total, 13 trans-genic plants with Ubi::GmDREB and 11 transgenic plantswith rd29A::GmDREB were identified from 103 regenerationplants by molecular analysis. The drought and salt tolerancesof T1 transgenic lines with Ubi::GmDREB orrd29A::GmDREB were demonstrated to be improved ascompared to wild type. The result also suggested that bothUbiquitin and rd29A promoters could effectively drive theexpression of the GmDREB gene and enhance drought andsalt tolerance of T1 plants.

Phytoavailability of Copper, Zinc and Cadmium in Sewage Sludge-Amended Calcareous Soils

The toxicity of trace elements (TEs), such as copper (Cu), zinc (Zn), and cadmium (Cd), often restrict land application of sewage sludge (SS) and there was little information about soil-plant transfer of TEs in SS from field experiments in China. In this study pot and field experiments were carried out for 2 years to investigate the phytoavailability of TEs in calcareous soils amended with SS. The results of the pot experiment showed that the phytoavailability of Zn and Cu in the SS was equal to 53.4%-80.9% and 54.8%-91.1% of corresponding water-soluble metal salts, respectively. The results from the field experiment showed that the contents of total Zn, Cu, and Cd in the soils increased linearly with SS application rates. With increasing SS application rates, the contents of Zn and Cu in the wheat grains initially increased and then reached a plateau, while there was no significant change of Cd content in the maize grains. The bioconcentration factors of the metals in the grains of wheat and maize were found to be in the order of Zn > Cu > Cd, but for the straw the order was Cd > Cu > Zn. It was also found that wheat grains could accumulate more metals compared with maize grains. The results will be helpful in developing the critical loads of sewage sludge applied to calcareous soils.

Genotypic variations in the accumulation of Cd exhibited by different vegetables

It is an important approach to use the Cd-contaminated soils properly by growing low accumulator or excluder plants for Cd to produce safe foods. To find the suitable vegetable species for growing in Cd-contaminated soils, in the present study the variations in the Cd accumulation for twenty eight vegetable species and several cultivars of five common vegetables （cowpea, kidney pea, bitter gourd, cucumber and squash） were investigated in two soil Cd levels （1 and 2 mg/kg Cd）. Experimental results showed that highly significant differences in Cd concentration were evident among 28 vegetables. For example, spinach Cd concentrations were 110-fold and 175-fold higher than that of sweet pea under the 1 and 2 mg/kg Cd exposures, respectively. For Cd accumulation, the order of vegetable species was： leafy vegetables solanaceous vegetables kale vegetables root vegetables allimus melon vegetables legumes. Distinctive differences were also identified when comparing different cultivars of the five common vegetables with an average range of 0.003–0.094 mg/kg Cd. Our results indicated that a large genotypic variation existed among vegetable species or cultivars when subjected to Cd exposure. Therefore, it is important and feasible to elect/breed vegetable species/cultivars with low accumulation of Cd, especially in mildly Cd-contaminated soils.