Abstract
Eichhornia crassipes plants brought from the River Nile were cultured in jars containing river water supplemented with various concentrations of Cd, Pb, and Sr (0 to 100 μg cm-3), added simultaneously. Treatment continued for 20 d during which each cultivation solution was being replaced with fresh one every 3 d. The growth of Eichhornia was drastically retarded at heavy metal concentrations higher than 15 μg cm-3. At concentrations 15 or 25 μg cm-3, the accumulation of Cd and Pb to levels several times higher than those in control plants was found. More than 50 % of the uptaken metals were retained by roots alone. Leaves and leaf petiols received around 30 and 20 % of the accumulated metals, respectively. X-ray microanalysis indicated the presence of the three heavy metals in Ca oxalate crystals. Content of metals in the crystals increased progressively over time of exposure in a way similar to those in whole plant tissues. These results suggest a possible role for Ca oxalate crystalization in toxic heavy metal deposition and thus tolerance by Eichhornia.
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