Contrasting effects of pyoverdine on the phytoextraction of Cu and Cd in a calcareous soil

Abstract

Enhanced metal phytoextraction by the use of siderophore-producing bacteria (SPB) has received a lot of attention in the past decade. Bacterial siderophores are able to bind a wide range of metals other than iron and thus should enhance their phytoavailability in contaminated matrices. However, the impact of bacterial siderophores in the soil–plant transfer of metals is not yet fully elucidated, as underlined by the opposing results reported in the literature regarding the efficiency of coupling phytoextraction with bioaugmentation by SPB. The present study focuses on one bacterial siderophore, the pyoverdine (Pvd), produced by Pseudomonas aeruginosa. The coordination properties of Pvd towards Cd(II) and Cu(II) were determined and the effect of Pvd supply was assessed on (i) the mobility (CaCl2 extractions), (ii) the phytoavailability (DGT measurements) and (iii) the phytoextraction of Cd and Cu, in a calcareous soil. The stability constant of Pvd-Cu (KL′Cu=1020.1) was found much higher than that of Pvd-Cd (KL′Cd=108.2). The major finding was the agreement observed between Pvd coordination properties and Pvd impact on metals phytoextraction. Pyoverdine, supplied at 250μmolkg−1 soil, enhanced the mobility, the phytoavailability and the phytoextraction of Cu while the fate of Cd was not affected. All these results were compared to those reported for chelate-assisted phytoextraction. Their relevance in using SPB for phytoremediation is discussed.