Growth responses of the newly-discovered Cd-hyperaccumulator Rorippa globosa and its accumulation characteristics of Cd and As under joint stress of Cd and As

Abstract

Rorippa globosa has been identified as a newly-found Cd-hyperaccumulating species. In the present study, growth responses of Rorippa globosa and its accumulation characteristics of Cd and As were examined under joint stress of Cd and As. The results showed that Cd and As had an antagonistic effect on enhancing the growth of Rorippa globosa plants and Cd uptake and accumulation under the low concentration Cd and As treatments. When the concentration of Cd in the soil was 10 mg/kg and the concentration of As was 50 mg/kg, the highest growing height of the plant was up to 35.9 cm and the dry weight of the shoots was up to 2.2 g/pot, respectively. Meanwhile, the accumulation of Cd in the leaves under the joint stress was higher than that at the same level under single Cd pollution. However, there were synergic adverse effects on plant growth and Cd uptake under the combined pollution from a high concentration of Cd and As. Meanwhile, the accumulation of As in the roots was greater than that in the shoots, the translocation factor (TF) was ⩽0.3 and the bioaccumulation factor (BF) was ⩽0.6, thus showing that Rorippa globosa had an excluding effect on As uptake. These results confirmed that Rorippa globosa had a strong tolerant ability to the joint stress of Cd and As, and the potential for phytoremediation of soils contaminated by Cd and As.