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Clonal Differences in Mercury Tolerance, Accumulation, and Distribution in Willow
Author(s) -
Wang Yaodong,
Greger Maria
Publication year - 2004
Publication title -
journal of environmental quality
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.888
H-Index - 171
eISSN - 1537-2537
pISSN - 0047-2425
DOI - 10.2134/jeq2004.1779
Subject(s) - willow , chromosomal translocation , shoot , mercury (programming language) , salicaceae , botany , phytoremediation , chemistry , nutrient , horticulture , environmental chemistry , biology , woody plant , heavy metals , biochemistry , organic chemistry , computer science , gene , programming language
ABSTRACT This study was performed to investigate mercury (Hg) tolerance, accumulation, and translocation within the genus Salix for the potential use of this plant to remediate Hg‐contaminated sites. Six clones of willow ( Salix spp.) were tested on tolerance to Hg by treating plants grown in solution culture with 0 to 15 μ M HgCl 2 Results showed that willow had a large variation in its sensitivity to Hg. However, the accumulation and translocation of Hg to shoots was similar in the eight tested willow clones as shown by cold vapor atomic absorption spectrometry analysis when plants were treated with 0.5 μ M HgCl 2 in a nutrient solution. The majority of total Hg accumulated was localized to the roots, whereas only 0.45 to 0.62% of the total Hg accumulated via roots was translocated to the shoots. Thus, the root system is the main tissue of willow that accumulates Hg and the majority of the Hg in the root system (80%) was bound in the cell wall.