Assessing the Tolerance of Castor Bean to Cd and Pb for Phytoremediation Purposes

Abstract

This study evaluated Cd and Pb accumulation by castor bean (Ricinus communis cv. Guarany) plants grown in nutrient solution, aiming to assess the plant's ability and tolerance to grow in Cd- and Pb-contaminated solutions for phytoremediation purposes. The plants were grown in individual pots containing Hoagland and Arnon's nutrient solution with increasing concentrations of Cd and Pb. The production of root and shoot dry matter and their contents of Cd, Pb, Ca, Mg, Cu, Fe, Mn, and Zn were evaluated in order to calculate the translocation and bioaccumulation factors, as well as toxicity of Cd and Pb. Cadmium caused severe symptoms of phytotoxicity in the plant's root and shoot, but no adverse effect was observed for Pb. Castor bean is an appropriate plant to be used as indicator plant for Cd and tolerante for Pb in contaminated solution and it can be potentially used for phytoremediation of contaminated areas.

Influence of Heavy Metals on Seed Germination and Early Seedling Growth in <i>Eruca sativa</i> Mill.

“…In our experiment the Eruca seed germination was not significantly affected by all the Cd concentrations (0.10 -0.46 mM) tested in this study (Figure 1), suggesting that Eruca seed germination is tolerant to Cd. In castor bean 1 mg•L −1 of Cd caused a reduction of 44% in the root dry mass and 53% in the shoot dry mass [39]. In Sinapis arvensis, the root length was decreased significantly by 92.62%, shoot length by 56.31% and fresh seedling weight by 49.69% at 150 μM Cd [38].…”

“…In our experiment Eruca seed germination was not significantly influenced by the Pb concentrations tested (0.8 -5.5 mM, Figure 1), suggesting that Eruca seed germination is very tolerant to Pb. Castor bean demonstrated to be tolerant to 0 -96 mg•L −1 Pb concentrations [39]. In Sinapis arvensis, the root length was decreased significantly by 66.46%, shoot length by 38.62% and fresh seedling weight by 33.33% at 300 μM Pb [38].…”

Genomic Characterization and Expressional Profiles of Autophagy-Related Genes (ATGs) in Oilseed Crop Castor Bean (Ricinus communis L.)

“…Further investigations on the identification and characterization of ATGs at the genome level from diverse species are necessary to increase our understanding of ATGs in plants. Castor bean (Ricinus communis L., Euphorbiaceae) is one of the most important inedible oilseed crops and its seed oil is widely used in industry, especially for producing lubricating oil and biodiesel [30][31][32], because of its high content of the unique fatty acid ricinoleic acid. Although endosperm is unusual in dicots, castor bean is a typical member of this unusual group [33].…”

Phytoremediation Crops and Biofuels

“…In developing country like India, it is difficult to convince environmental regulators and local agencies to grow metal accumulators (the data on hyperaccumulators is scanty) in the contaminated areas for the sole purpose of removing pollutants from their environment unless financial renumeration or expenses are subsidized. Huang et al (2011), Prabavathi et al (2011), Bauddh and Singh (2012a Cd, Cr, Cu, Fe, Mn, Ni, Pb, Zn Singh et al (2010) Cd, Cu, Mn, Ni, Pb, Zn Olivares et al (2013) Cd, Cu, Mn, Pb, Zn Olivares et al (2013) Cd, Cu, Pb, Zn Chaudhry et al (1998), Olivares et al (2013) Cd, Pb Zhi-xin et al (2007), Niu et al (2009), de Souza Costa et al (2012) Cd, Pb, Zn Sas-Nowosielska et al (2008) Cu, Fe, Mn, Zn Stephan et al (1994), Schmidke and Stephan (1995), Stephan et al (1995) Cu, Pb, Zn Xiaohai et al (2008), Nazir et al (2011) Cu, Zn Chaves et al (2010) Cu, Zn, Fe Khanam and Singh (2012) Hg Siegel et al (1984) Mn , Gabriel and Patten (1994) Al, B, Ba, Ca, Cr, Cu, Fe, K, Li, Mg, Mn, Na, Ni, Sr, V, Zn, Nagaraju and Prasad (1998) Al , Table 7.10 Fiber yielding plants that can be grown on contaminated sites (Bjelková et al 2011;Griga and Bjelkova 2013;Linger et al 2002;Smykalova et al 2010) Plant Source Description Seed fiber…”