Biological aspects of cadmium and lead uptake by Phragmites australis (cav. Trin ex steudel) in natural water ecosystems

Abstract

In natural environment plants are exposed to many different stress factors, including heavy metals, whose elevated concentration causes oxidative stress, connected with formation of reactive oxygen species (ROS). Therefore, plants have developed defence systems, including enzymatic antioxidant system, able to remove ROS. The work concerns the accumulation of two heavy metals, cadmium (Cd) and lead (Pb), as well as the phenomenon of oxidative stress caused by increased concentration of these metals in common reed (Phragmites australis), a dominant species in the littoral zone of many water reservoirs. The plants were obtained from four water bodies situated in Poznan: Kierskie Lake, Rusa³ka Lake, Strzeszynskie Lake and So³acki Pond. The aim of the study was to examined the accumulation of heavy metals and the relation between activity of antioxidant enzymes in rhizome, stem and reed leaves during the vegetative period. Three antioxidant enzymes were analyzed: ascorbate peroxidase (APX), guaiacol peroxidase (GPX) and superoxide dismutase (SOD). The statistical analysis was done to determine the influence of the heavy metals on the activity of the antioxidant enzymes, involved in limiting and removing results of oxidative stress. Heavy metals were accumulated in common reed in all the four water reservoirs, but the activity of enzymes was variable during the observation period. Statistical analyses suggest that there are some correlations among concentration of metals and the activity of antioxidative enzymes. However, the results do not provide an unambiguous determination of the effect of heavy metals on enzymatic activity. Summing up, the contamination