Abstract
Phytoaccumulation of radionuclides is of significant interest with regards to monitoring radionuclide build-up in food chains, developing methods for environmental bioremediation and for ecological management. There are many gaps in our understanding of the characteristics and mechanisms of plant radionuclide accumulation, including the importance of symbiotically-associated arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi. We first briefly review the evidence that demonstrates the ability of AM fungi to enhance the translocation of 238U into plant root tissues, and how fungal association may prevent further mobilization into shoot tissues. We then focus on approaches that should further advance our knowledge of AM fungi–plant radionuclide accumulation. Current research has mostly used artificial cultivation methods and we consider how more ecologically-relevant analysis might be performed. The use of synchrotron-based X-ray fluorescence imaging and absorption spectroscopy techniques to understand the mechanisms of radionuclide transfer from soil to plant via AM fungi is evaluated. Without such further knowledge, the behavior and mobilization of radionuclides cannot be accurately modeled and the potential risks cannot be accurately predicted.
Highlights
Elevated levels of radioactive elements in the environment, resulting from industrial activities or geology, can be a significant problem to ecosystem well-being and may threaten human health, if they build up in the food chain
Anthropogenic activities of mining and waste from nuclear energy generation can enhance environmental radionuclide concentrations: for example, from accidental release or controlled discharge of radionuclides such as 137Cs, 129I, 99Tc, and Pu. Together these radionuclides can pose a radiological risk, in addition to inducing effects associated with chemotoxicity, such as oxidative stress (Saenen et al, 2013)
A number of studies has examined the accumulation of nonessential radionuclides from the soil into various plant species in the context of radionuclide bioremediation (Dushenkov, 2003)
Summary
Radioactivity and the environment: technical approaches to understand the role of arbuscular mycorrhizal plants in radionuclide bioaccumulation. Phytoaccumulation of radionuclides is of significant interest with regards to monitoring radionuclide build-up in food chains, developing methods for environmental bioremediation and for ecological management. There are many gaps in our understanding of the characteristics and mechanisms of plant radionuclide accumulation, including the importance of symbiotically-associated arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi. The use of synchrotron-based X-ray fluorescence imaging and absorption spectroscopy techniques to understand the mechanisms of radionuclide transfer from soil to plant via AM fungi is evaluated. Without such further knowledge, the behavior and mobilization of radionuclides cannot be accurately modeled and the potential risks cannot be accurately predicted
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