Boron accumulation in Puccinellia frigida, an extremely tolerant and promising species for boron phytoremediation

Boron stress response and accumulation potential of the extremely tolerant species Puccinellia frigida

“…Arsenic concentrations are extremely high in soil samples in the Colpitas River sub-basin of Northern Chile (20,830 mg/kg) [30] where P. frigida samples were obtained, and this transporter may be one of the mechanisms employed by this species to tolerate such elevated arsenic levels.…”

“…P. frigida grows in semiarid areas in highly saline and alkaline soils that are rich in arsenic, conditions that are often found in boron contaminated places [30]. Revegetating boron contaminated sites would reduce soil erosion and increase organic matter [10], which would permit the subsequent cultivation of crops with higher market value or of other less tolerant phytoextractor species with higher boron removal rates [6].…”

“…Johnst. (Poaceae) is a little-studied Chilean native perennial grass that was recently found growing in a hydrothermal site with extremely high levels of boron (>4,000 mg/kg [30]). Soils in this site are also highly saline and alkaline, and present elevated arsenic concentrations [30].…”

“…(Poaceae) is a little-studied Chilean native perennial grass that was recently found growing in a hydrothermal site with extremely high levels of boron (>4,000 mg/kg [30]). Soils in this site are also highly saline and alkaline, and present elevated arsenic concentrations [30]. These conditions are often found in boron contaminated places [3], which makes P. frigida a possible candidate for boron phytoremediation.…”

“…These conditions are often found in boron contaminated places [3], which makes P. frigida a possible candidate for boron phytoremediation. In addition, P. frigida accumulates large amounts of boron in the shoots, which gives it potential for phytoextraction [30]. However, these field observations do not take into account that boron tolerance and uptake can be influenced by several environmental factors and soil properties, such as climatic conditions, soil pH, and soil salinity [31][32][33].…”