Impact of plant photosystems in the remediation of benzo[a]pyrene and pyrene spiked soils

Anithadevi Kenday Sivaram; Panneerselvan Logeshwaran; Robin Lockington; Ravi Naidu; Mallavarapu Megharaj

doi:10.1016/j.chemosphere.2017.11.081

Impact of plant photosystems in the remediation of benzo[a]pyrene and pyrene spiked soils

Chemosphere. 2018 Feb:193:625-634. doi: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2017.11.081. Epub 2017 Nov 17.

Authors

Anithadevi Kenday Sivaram¹, Panneerselvan Logeshwaran¹, Robin Lockington², Ravi Naidu¹, Mallavarapu Megharaj³

Affiliations

¹ Global Centre for Environmental Remediation, Faculty of Science, The University of Newcastle (UoN), University Drive, Callaghan, NSW 2308, Australia; Centre for Environmental Risk Assessment and Remediation (CERAR), University of South Australia, Mawson Lakes, SA 5095, Australia; Cooperative Research Centre for Contamination Assessment and Remediation of the Environment, Advanced Technology Centre, The University of Newcastle, University Drive, Callaghan, NSW 2308, Australia.
² Centre for Environmental Risk Assessment and Remediation (CERAR), University of South Australia, Mawson Lakes, SA 5095, Australia; Cooperative Research Centre for Contamination Assessment and Remediation of the Environment, Advanced Technology Centre, The University of Newcastle, University Drive, Callaghan, NSW 2308, Australia.
³ Global Centre for Environmental Remediation, Faculty of Science, The University of Newcastle (UoN), University Drive, Callaghan, NSW 2308, Australia; Centre for Environmental Risk Assessment and Remediation (CERAR), University of South Australia, Mawson Lakes, SA 5095, Australia; Cooperative Research Centre for Contamination Assessment and Remediation of the Environment, Advanced Technology Centre, The University of Newcastle, University Drive, Callaghan, NSW 2308, Australia. Electronic address: megh.mallavarapu@newcastle.edu.au.

PMID: 29175394
DOI: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2017.11.081

Abstract

The phytoremediation potential of 14 different plant species belonging to C3 and C4 carbon fixation pathway for soils spiked with polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) such as benzo[a]pyrene (B[a]P) and pyrene (PYR) was investigated. A glasshouse experiment was conducted to measure the changes in morphological, physiological, biochemical parameters and the bioaccumulation and biodegradation ability of the plants in soils spiked with 48 and 194 mg kg^-1 of B[a]P and PYR, respectively. The per cent removal efficacy of B[a]P and PYR by the tested plant species over a period of 50 days was from 6 to 26% and 14 to 40% respectively. The maximum removal of both B[a]P and PYR was observed in Sudan grass (C4), vetiver (C4), maize (C4), and sunflower (C3). In terms of accumulation in root and shoot, the concentration of PYR was higher in both C3 and C4 plant species when compared to B[a]P. Overall the results indicated that C4 plants were more efficient than their C3 counterparts in terms of morphological, physiological, biochemical and degradation ability of PAHs.

Keywords: Bioaccumulation; Biodegradation; C3 and C4 plants; PAHs; Phytoremediation; Soil dehydrogenase activity.

MeSH terms

Benzo(a)pyrene / analysis
Benzo(a)pyrene / metabolism*
Biodegradation, Environmental*
Plant Roots / metabolism
Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons / metabolism
Pyrenes / metabolism
Soil / chemistry
Soil Microbiology
Soil Pollutants / analysis
Soil Pollutants / metabolism*
Zea mays / metabolism

Substances

Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons
Pyrenes
Soil
Soil Pollutants
Benzo(a)pyrene
pyrene