Cd Hyperaccumulator Research Articles

A kinetic analysis of cadmium accumulation in a Cd hyper‐accumulator fern, Athyrium yokoscense and tobacco plants

Cadmium (Cd) accumulations in a Cd hyper-accumulator fern, Athyrium yokoscense (Ay), and tobacco, Nicotiana tabacum (Nt), were kinetically analysed using the positron-emitting tracer imaging system under two medium conditions (basal and no-nutrient). In Ay, maximumly 50% and 15% of the total Cd accumulated in the distal roots and the shoots under the basal condition, respectively. Interestingly, a portion of the Cd in the distal roots returned to the medium. In comparison with Ay, a little fewer Cd accumulations in the distal roots and clearly higher Cd migration to the shoots were observed in Nt under the basal condition (maximumly 40% and 70% of the total Cd, respectively). The no-nutrient condition down-regulated the Cd migration in both species, although the regulation was highly stricter in Ay than in Nt (almost no migration in Ay and around 20% migration in Nt). In addition, the present work enabled to estimate physical and physiological Cd accumulation capacities in the distal roots, and demonstrated condition-dependent changes especially in Ay. These results clearly suggested occurrences of species-/condition-specific regulations in each observed parts. It is probable that integration of these properties govern the specific Cd tolerance/accumulation in Ay and Nt.

The effectiveness and risk comparison of EDTA with EGTA in enhancing Cd phytoextraction by Mirabilis jalapa L.

In the previous study, Mirabilis jalapa L. had revealed the basic Cd hyperaccumulator characteristics, but the accumulation ability was not as strong as that of other known Cd hyperaccumulators. In order to improve the accumulation ability of this ornamental plant, the chelants were used to activate the Cd in soil. As a substitute, ethylene glycol bis(2-aminoethyl) tetraacetic acid (EGTA) was selected to testify whether it has better effectiveness and can bring lesser metal leaching risk than EDTA. The data showed that the growth of M. jalapa was inhibited, while the Cd concentration of the plant was significantly increased under the treatments containing EDTA or EGTA. The Cd translocation ability under the EGTA treatments was higher than that under the EDTA treatments. The available Cd resulted from the application of chelant EGTA to the contaminated soils can be limited to the top 5cm, while the application of chelant EDTA to the contaminated soils can be limited to the top 10cm. In a word, EGTA showed better effectiveness than EDTA in enhancing Cd phytoextraction of M. jalapa. As an ornamental plant, M. jalapa has the potential to be used for phytoextraction of Cd-contaminated soils and it can beautify the environment at the same time.

Tolerance to cadmium in plants: the special case of hyperaccumulators

On sols highly polluted by trace metallic elements the majority of plant species are excluders, limiting the entry and the root to shoot translocation of trace metals. However a rare class of plants called hyperaccumulators possess remarkable adaptation because those plants combine extremely high tolerance degrees and foliar accumulation of trace elements. Hyperaccumulators have recently gained considerable interest, because of their potential use in phytoremediation, phytomining and biofortification. On a more fundamental point of view hyperaccumulators of trace metals are case studies to understand metal homeostasis and detoxification mechanisms. Hyperaccumulation of trace metals usually depends on the enhancement of at least four processes, which are the absorption from the soil, the loading in the xylem in the roots and the unloading from the xylem in the leaves and the detoxification in the shoot. Cadmium is one of the most toxic trace metallic elements for living organisms and its accumulation in the environment is recognized as a worldwide concern. To date, only nine species have been recognized as Cd hyperaccumulators that is to say able to tolerate and accumulate more than 0.01% Cd in shoot dry biomass. Among these species, four belong to the Brassicaceae family with Arabidopsis halleri and Noccaea caerulescens being considered as models. An update of our knowledge on the evolution of hyperaccumulators will be presented here.

Changes of microbial properties in (near-) rhizosphere soils after phytoextraction by Sedum alfredii H: A rhizobox approach with an artificial Cd-contaminated soil

The ultimate goal of soil remediation is to restore soil health. Soil microbial parameters are considered to be effective indicators of soil health. The aim of this study was to determine the effects of phytoextraction on microbial properties through the measurement of soil microbial biomass carbon, soil basal respiration and enzyme activities. For this purpose, a pre-stratified rhizobox experiment was conducted with the Cd hyperaccumulator Sedum alfredii H. for phytoextraction Cd from an artificial contaminated soil (15.81mgkg−1) under greenhouse conditions. The plant and soil samples were collected after growing the plant for three and six months with three replications. The results indicated that the ecotype of S. alfredii H. originating from an ancient silver mining site was a Cd-hyperaccumulator as it showed high tolerance to Cd stress, the shoot Cd concentration were as high as 922.6mgkg−1 and 581.9mgkg−1 at the two samplings, and it also showed high BF (58.4 and 36.8 after 3 and 6 months growth), and TF (5.8 and 5.1 after 3 and 6 months growth). The amounts of Cd accumulated in the shoots of S. alfredii reached to an average of 1206μgplant−1 after 6 months growth. Basal respiration, invertase and acid phosphatase activities of the rhizosphere soil separated by the shaking method were significantly higher (P<0.01) than that of the near-rhizosphere soil and the unplanted soil after 3 months growth, so were microbial biomass carbon, urease, invertase and acid phosphatase activities of the rhizosphere soil after 6 months growth. Acid phosphatase activity of the 0–2mm sub-layer rhizosphere soil collected by the pre-stratified method after 3 months growth was significantly higher (P<0.05) than that of other sub-layer rhizosphere soils and bulk soil, and so were microbial biomass carbon, basal respiration, urease, invertase and acid phosphatase activities of the 0–2mm sub-layer rhizosphere soil after 6 months growth. It was concluded that phytoextraction by S. alfredii could improve soil microbial properties, especially in rhizosphere, and this plant poses a great potential for the remediation of Cd contaminated soil.

Cadmium minimization in rice. A review

Cadmium (Cd) contamination of rice is found in areas irrigated by wastewater from mines. Cd contamination of rice fields can also result from the application of Cd-rich phosphate fertilizers. As a consequence, millions of tons of rice are discarded. In Asia, irrigated paddy-based cropping systems provide rice grains as food for about 2 billion people. A daily intake of 20–40 μg Cd from rice is reported in regions where rice is used as a food. Daily rice Cd intake leads to diseases such as bone mineralization. Hence, Cd minimization in rice is needed. This article reviews sustainable agriculture and molecular techniques that prevents Cd uptake in rice. Cadmium minimization can be done either by field remediation or change in plant functions. Organic farming decreases Cd uptake and remediates crop fields. Cd hyperaccumulator plants and Cd immobilizing microbes can be used for field remediation. Cd amount in rice can be controlled by gene families that code for putative transition metal transporters or metal chaperones and quantitative trait loci (QTL). Generation of Cd excluder rice is possible by transgenics.

Transcriptomic Analysis of Cadmium Stress Response in the Heavy Metal Hyperaccumulator Sedum alfredii Hance

The Sedum alfredii Hance hyperaccumulating ecotype (HE) has the ability to hyperaccumulate cadmium (Cd), as well as zinc (Zn) and lead (Pb) in above-ground tissues. Although many physiological studies have been conducted with these plants, the molecular mechanisms underlying their hyper-tolerance to heavy metals are largely unknown. Here we report on the generation of 9.4 gigabases of adaptor-trimmed raw sequences and the assembly of 57,162 transcript contigs in S. alfredii Hance (HE) shoots by the combination of Roche 454 and Illumina/Solexa deep sequencing technologies. We also have functionally annotated the transcriptome and analyzed the transcriptome changes upon Cd hyperaccumulation in S. alfredii Hance (HE) shoots. There are 110 contigs and 123 contigs that were up-regulated (Fold Change ≧2.0) and down-regulated (Fold Change ≦0.5) by chronic Cd treatment in S. alfredii Hance (HE) at q-value cutoff of 0.005, respectively. Quantitative RT-PCR was employed to compare gene expression patterns between S. alfredii Hance (HE) and non-hyperaccumulating ecotype (NHE). Our results demonstrated that several genes involved in cell wall modification, metal translocation and remobilization were more induced or constitutively expressed at higher levels in HE shoots than that in NHE shoots in response to Cd exposure. Together, our study provides large-scale expressed sequence information and genome-wide transcriptome profiling of Cd responses in S. alfredii Hance (HE) shoots.

Main rhizosphere characteristics of the Cd hyperaccumulator Rorippa globosa (Turcz.) Thell

Aim This article was aimed to explore the main rhizospherial properties of the Cd hyperaccumulator R. globosa compared to those of the non hyperaccumulator Rorippa palustris (Leyss.) Bess. representing the same genus (Rorippa) of Cruciferae.

Root system responses of hyperaccumulator Solanum nigrum L. to Cd

Though phytoremediation is an important technology for remedying heavy metal-contaminated soils, hyperaccumulation mechanism, especially in root, is still less known. Pot culture experiment was used to explore the tolerance mechanism of a cadmium (Cd) hyperaccumulator Solanum nigrum L. by determining the main root traits compared to the non-hyperaccumulator Solanum melongena L. (cultivar name Liaoqie 3) in the same plant family. The total root lengths, total root surface areas, and total root volumes of S. nigrum were not significantly decreased (p < 0.05) compared to their controls when Cd spikes were lower than 20 mg kg–1. However, the abovementioned three factors of S. melongena were significantly decreased (p < 0.05) when 20 mg kg–1 of Cd was spiked. By contrast, S. nigrum showed stronger tolerance to Cd. In addition, S. nigrum showed all Cd hyperaccumulator characteristics, i.e., a Cd hyperaccumulator. S. melongena was a non-Cd hyperaccumulator. These results indicated that root trait can be a factor of hyperaccumulation because of strong tolerance to Cd.

Endogenous jasmonic and salicylic acids levels in the Cd-hyperaccumulator Noccaea (Thlaspi) praecox exposed to fungal infection and/or mechanical stress

Sensitivity to Erysiphe in Noccaea praecox with low metal supply is related to the failure in enhancing SA. Cadmium protects against fungal-infection by direct toxicity and/or enhanced fungal-induced JA signaling. Metal-based defense against biotic stress is an attractive hypothesis on evolutionary advantages of plant metal hyperaccumulation. Metals may compensate for a defect in biotic stress signaling in hyperaccumulators (metal-therapy) by either or both direct toxicity to pathogens and by metal-induced alternative signaling pathways. Jasmonic acid (JA) and salicylic acid (SA) are well-established components of stress signaling pathways. However, few studies evaluate the influence of metals on endogenous concentrations of these defense-related hormones. Even less data are available for metal hyperaccumulators. To further test the metal-therapy hypothesis we analyzed endogenous SA and JA concentrations in Noccaea praecox, a cadmium (Cd) hyperaccumulator. Plants treated or not with Cd, were exposed to mechanical wounding, expected to enhance JA signaling, and/or to infection by biotrophic fungus Erysiphe cruciferarum for triggering SA. JA and SA were analyzed in leaf extracts using LC-ESI(-)-MS/MS. Plants without Cd were more susceptible to fungal attack than plants receiving Cd. Cadmium alone tended to increase leaf SA but not JA. Either or both fungal attack and mechanical wounding decreased SA levels and enhanced JA in the Cd-rich leaves of plants exposed to Cd. High leaf Cd in N. praecox seems to hamper biotic-stress-induced SA, while triggering JA signaling in response to fungal attack and wounding. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report on the endogenous JA and SA levels in a Cd-hyperaccumulator exposed to different biotic and abiotic stresses. Our results support the view of a defect in SA stress signaling in Cd hyperaccumulating N. praecox.

Cd Hyperaccumulative Characteristics of Australia Ecotype Solanum Nigrum L. and Its Implication in Screening Hyperaccumulator

A pot culture experiment was used to determine the differences in uptake characteristics of a cadmium hyperaccumulator Solanum nigrum L. discovered in China, an ecotype from Melbourne, Australia and a non-hyperaccumulator Solanum melogena. Australian ecotype was not significantly different to the China ecotype. In particular, Cd concentration in leaves and shoots of S. nigrum collected from Australia were 166.0 and 146.3 mg kg−1 respectively when 20 mg kg−1 Cd spiked, and were not significantly different to the ecotype imported from China which had 109.8 and 85.3 mg kg−1 respectively, in the stems and leaves. In contrast, the tolerance of the eggplant to Cd was significantly less than the two S. nigrum ecotypes. Although some morphological properties of S. nigrum collected from Australia were different from that of the plants collected from China, Cd hyperaccumulator characteristics of two ecotypes were similar. The results suggested that the tolerance and uptake of Cd may be a constitutive trait of this species.

Influence of CdCl2 and CdSO4 supplementation on Cd distribution and ligand environment in leaves of the Cd hyperaccumulator Noccaea (Thlaspi) praecox

Background and aimsThe aim was to investigate whether different Cd salts in the nutrient solution of the Cd/Zn hyperaccumulator Noccaea (Thlaspi) praecox alter leaf Cd distribution and Cd ligand environment, and plant fitness.MethodsPlants were grown for 8 weeks with 100/300 μM CdCl2 or CdSO4. Leaf biomass, and total chlorophyll, anthocyanin, Cd, Cl, S and P concentrations were monitored. Cd localisation and ligand environment in leaves were analysed using quantitative synchrotron-based micro-X-ray fluorescence imaging, and Cd K-edge X-ray absorption fine structure and Cd L3-edge micro-X-ray absorption near-edge structure measurements.ResultsCd uptake and plant fitness were comparable for CdCl2 and CdSO4 treatments, and depended on applied Cd concentration. In all treatments, Cd preferentially accumulated with high concentrations of Cl in vacuoles of large vacuolarised epidermal cells, bound mainly to oxygen-based (O)-ligands. In the mesophyll of CdCl2− treated plants, Cd was preferentially sequestered in vacuoles, while for CdSO4, Cd accumulated preferentially in the apoplast. In the symplast, O-ligands increased with increasing Cd concentrations; in the apoplast, sulphur-based (S)-ligands prevailed.ConclusionsCd partitioning between leaf mesophyll apoplast and symplast and the Cd ligand environment in N. praecox depend on the Cd salt type and concentration added to the nutrient solution.

Accumulated Characteristics of Hyperaccumulation &lt;i&gt;Hibiscus esulentus&lt;/i&gt; L in Relation to Heavy Metals Cd

The study and selection of heavy metal hyperaccumulation and its planting methods and a rapid and efficient elimination of heavy metals in the contaminated environment are important research focuses to deal with the restoration and controlling of heavy metal contaminated environment. This experiment aims to explore the accumulation and accumulation characteristics of Cd on Hibiscus esulentus L in the simulation heavy metal contaminated environment achieved by pot cultivating techniques. To this end, different concentrations of heavy metal CdSO4 were used as treatment. The results indicated that with increase of the concentration of CdSO4, the accumulation of Cd in Hibiscus esulentus L was increased. When the treatment concentration of CdSO4 was at its highest (100mg/Kg), the accumulation of Cd on the above ground was 0.498mg/gDW, the highest, and that under the ground was 0.117mg/gDW. In view that the relationship of Hibiscus esulentus L of its above ground part(S) and its underground part (R) is S/R&gt;1, experimental evidence shows that it has the basic characteristic of Cd hyperaccumulation.

Phytoremediation of Cadmium Contaminated Soils: Advances and Researching Prospects

More and more attention has been paid to soil contamination by heavy metals in recent years. Heavy metal contamination includes heavy metal - heavy metal contamination, heavy metal - organic contamination, and heavy metal nutrient contamination. In particular, soil contamination by cadmium (Cd) is the most typical one. In terms of the current remediation technologies, phytoremediation of Cd contaminated soil remains popular due to its low cost, environmental aesthetics and in-situ effective treatment. Therefore, screening-out and identification of Cd hyperaccumulators becomes a hotspot in this researching domain. In order to further improve the efficiency of phytoremediation, we have developed a variety of joint remediation technologies. Based on these work at home and abroad, we summed up the studying progress in this field. Some main researching contents and directions of phytoremediation for Cd contaminated soils were also proposed.

Transformation of Tobacco with ScMTII Gene‐Enhanced Cadmium and Zinc Accumulation

AbstractGenetic transformation is gaining importance for developing plant types suitable to metal accumulate and/or hyperaccumulate. In this study, the transgenic tobacco plant which transferred the ScMTII gene from Saccharomyces cerevisiae to wild type tobacco cultivar Petite Havana (SR1) was grown on soils with low and high cadmium (Cd) and zinc (Zn) concentrations in a growth chamber for 6 weeks and compared to wild type tobacco for Cd and Zn accumulation. Cadmium and Zn accumulations in the transgenic and wild type tobacco plants were increased with the increasing Cd and Zn concentrations. Unlike Zn, the transgenic plant accumulated significantly higher amount of Cd compared to the wild type control plants. Shoot Cd concentrations of transgenic tobacco in higher Cd dosages reached the above the hyperaccumulation threshold value of 100 mg Cd kg−1 in the dry weight (DW). Transgenic tobacco accumulated 354, 400, 372, and 457 mg Cd kg−1 DW, for 10, 20, 40, and 80 mg Cd kg−1 soil treatments, respectively. These values are 3.5–4.5‐fold higher than that of Cd hyperaccumulation threshold value. With 10 mg kg−1 Cd treatment, the bioconcentration factor (BCF) of transgenic tobacco plants for Cd reached up to 35 in which the threshold value for BCF should be at least 10. Our results showed that the transgenic tobacco may be used as a good Cd hyperaccumulator plant and for phytoextraction of Cd contaminated soils, but not for Zn.

Using EDDS and NTA for enhanced phytoextraction of Cd by water spinach

A greenhouse experiment was used to test the applicability of [S,S]-Ethylenediaminedisuccinic acid (EDDS) and nitrilotriacetic acid (NTA) at rates of 2.5 mmol kg−1 and 5.0 mmol kg−1, respectively, to increase the uptake of Cd by water spinach (Ipomoea aquatic Forsk) in soils with 2.5–30 mg Cd kg−1. The addition of EDDS and NTA significantly increased water soluble Cd in soils. However, the Cd concentration in the root and shoot was higher in the NTA treatment than in the EDDS treatment. No instance of Cd hyperaccumulation was observed; however, the 5.0 mmol kg−1 NTA treatment for soil with 30 mg Cd kg−1 caused the Cd concentration to increase to 86 mg kg−1, which is close to the critical concentration (100 mg kg−1) of a hyperaccumulator. The total Cd uptake in the treatments of EDDS and NTA for soils with 2.5, 5.0, and 10 mg Cd kg−1 was acceptable, and was higher than the control. The level of 5.0 mmol kg−1 EDDS was excessively high for enhanced phytoextraction in soils with 20 and 30 mg Cd kg−1. Water spinach for Cd phytoextraction is a viable alternative to using herbaceous hyperaccumulators.

Cadmium uptake, chemical forms, subcellular distribution, and accumulation in Echinodorus osiris Rataj

Phytoremediation is a technology for extracting or inactivating pollutants in soil. Echinodorus osiris (E. osiris) is a fast growing perennial wetland plant that is common in tropical and subtropical areas and has a high tolerance to cadmium (Cd). However, the absorption dynamics, subcellular distribution and accumulation of Cd by E. osiris had not been investigated. In this paper, hydroponic experiments with different levels of Cd(2+) (0, 5.0, 15.0 mg L(-1)) were carried out to determine these characteristics of E. osiris. The results indicated that the Cd absorption rate of Echinodorus osiris decreased over time, and the absorption rate within 0.5-1.0 h was faster than after 1.0 h. In a 6.0 hour time period, the rate of Cd uptake fit a quadratic polynomial curve when E. osiris was grown under the 5 mg L(-1) Cd treatment. However, the rate of Cd uptake by E. osiris fit a cubic polynomial model with the 15 mg L(-1) Cd treatment. In the roots, the ethanol-extractable Cd, water-extractable Cd, and NaCl-extractable Cd were the largest proportions of the total Cd. The HAc-extractable Cd, HCl-extractable Cd, and residual-Cd represented a larger proportion of the total Cd in the leaves which was combined with phosphate including CdHPO4, Cd3 (PO4)2, and oxalic acid. When analyzing the subcellular distribution of Cd in the plant, the soluble fraction containing Cd accounted for the largest part (69.49-88.39%) followed by the Cd bound to the cell wall (8.44-25.62%). Both the lower and the higher Cd treatments demonstrated that compartmentation by the vacuole and cell wall binding were two effective defense mechanisms of the plant. However, the vacuole became the main site for Cd accumulation in the leaves under the 15 mg L(-1) Cd treatment. E. osiris was able to accumulate high concentrations of Cd in both the roots and the leaves. The Cd concentration reached 502.97 mg kg(-1) and 2742.95 mg kg(-1) in the shoots and roots, respectively, after 27 days of cultivation. It was concluded that E. osiris is a potential hyperaccumulator of Cd.

Cadmium Induced Changes of Proline in Two Ecotypes ofThlaspi Caerulescens

A Thlaspi caerulescens (J. & C. PRESL) was used to study the effect of cadmium on the content of free amino acids and ability accumulation of Cd in ecotypes of this plant species. In pot experiment two ecotypes T. caerulescens were used: Ganges ecotype from France and Mežica ecotype from Slovenia. The plants were grown in soil (chernozem - Suchdol) spiked with NPK and three different concentration of Cd: 30, 60 and 90 mg/kg. The content of Cd was measured in the above-ground biomass and roots using ICP-OES. Accumulation of Cd was higher in the Mežica ecotype in contrast to the low Cd-accumulating the Ganges ecotype. Analyses of free amino acids contents were measured by GC-MS method. The content of free amino acids in above-ground biomass of the Mežica ecotype declined progressively with increasing concentrations of Cd. Opposite trend was observed in roots of this ecotype. The increase of free amino acids contents in above-ground biomass and roots of the Ganges ecotype were detected. The results of specific amino acids free proline showed increased content in plant biomass with increasing Cd contamination of soil. A statistically significant increase was observed between control plants (0 mg/kg Cd) and variant Cd3 (90 mg/kg Cd) for both ecotypes. The statistically significant decrease of free proline was observed in the Mežica ecotype roots. Opposite trend was observed in roots of Ganges ecotype - increasing trend of free proline content. These results indicate a correlation between content of Cd and content of free proline in different parts of the plant. We can speculate that the mechanism of Cd hyperaccumulation and metabolism of free proline are not identical in ecotypes of this species.

Hyperaccumulation of cadmium in Matricaria chamomilla: a never-ending story?

Chamomile (Matricaria chamomilla L.) is a widely used medicinal plant but may also accumulate metals including cadmium. Because recent paper (Masarovicova et al. 2010 Acta Physiol Plant 32:823–829) contradicts previous results of our research group and suggested Cd “hyper/accumulation” in chamomile, present study examined Cd uptake in a long-term experiment (7 weeks) using low Cd concentration (1.5 μM). Besides, typical Cd hyperaccumulator Thlaspi caerulescens and Ni hyperaccumulator Thlaspi goesingense were also cultured under identical conditions. Data obtained indicate that shoot Cd content and bioaccumulation factor (BAF) in chamomile was ca. 5–10 times lower than that in Thlaspi. In this view, chamomile is not a hyperaccumulator species. Comparison of shoot Cd content, BAF and translocation factor (TF) in selected crops is also provided.

Extraction and isolation of the salidroside-type metabolite from zinc (Zn) and cadmium (Cd) hyperaccumulator Sedum alfredii Hance

The active metabolite in the post-harvested biomass of zinc (Zn) and cadmium (Cd) hyperaccumulator Sedum alfredii Hance from phytoextraction is of great interest in China. The current study demonstrates that a salidroside-type metabolite can be yielded from the Zn/Cd hyperaccumulator S. alfredii biomass by means of sonication/ethanol extraction and macroporous resin column (AB-8 type) isolation. The concentrations of Zn and Cd in the salidroside-type metabolite were below the limitation of the national standards.

The use of the model species Arabidopsis halleri towards phytoextraction of cadmium polluted soils

Phytoremediation consists in treating environmental pollutions through the use of plants and their associated microbes. Phytoremediation can be used for pollutant stabilization, extraction, degradation or volatilization. Cadmium is one of the most toxic trace metallic elements for living organisms and its accumulation in the environment is recognized as a worldwide concern. Plants suitable for efficient pollutant extraction from the soil should combine different characteristics like fast growth, high biomass, high tolerance and high accumulation capacities in harvestable parts. A rare class of plants called hyperaccumulators combines extremely high tolerance degrees and foliar accumulation of trace elements. With regard to cadmium, none of the Cd hyperaccumulators identified has met the criteria for efficient phytoextraction so far. By virtue of genetic engineering it is possible to transfer genes involved in Cd tolerance or accumulation in high biomass plants. Nevertheless, the genetic determinants of Cd hyperaccumulation are far from being understood. It is thus indispensable to acquire more knowledge about these processes. Among Cd hyperaccumulators, Arabidopsis halleri (some populations can hyperaccumulate Cd) is considered as a model species for the study of metal homeostasis and detoxification. This review will summarize our knowledge about Cd tolerance and accumulation acquired in A. halleri and how this knowledge may be used in phytoextraction.