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RESEARCH ARTICLE
Contents Vol 5(5)

Concentration and biotransformation of arsenic by Prosopis sp. grown in soil treated with chelating agents and phytohormones

Martha Laura López A , José R. Peralta-Videa A , Jason G. Parsons A , Maria Duarte-Gardea C and Jorge L. Gardea-Torresdey A B D
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations

A Chemistry Department, University of Texas at El Paso, 500 W University Avenue, El Paso, TX 79968, USA.

B Environmental Sciences and Engineering PhD Program, University of Texas at El Paso, El Paso, TX 79968, USA.

C Department of Health Promotion, College of Health Sciences, University of Texas at El Paso, Campbell Street, Room 706, El Paso, TX 79902-0581, USA.

D Corresponding author. Email: jgardea@utep.edu

Environmental Chemistry 5(5) 320-331 https://doi.org/10.1071/EN08044
Submitted: 22 July 2008  Accepted: 25 August 2008   Published: 31 October 2008

Environmental context. Arsenic (As) is a metalloid found throughout the environment. Although As can be released from natural phenomena, anthropogenic activities account for most As contamination worldwide. The toxicity of As depends on the form (inorganic or organic) and species (AsIII or AsV), among others. Plants have the ability to absorb and bioreduce As, cleaning the soil and reducing the toxicity of As to some extent. The aim of the present research was to study the effects of cysteine, the chelating agents cyclohexylenedinitrotetraacetic acid and nitrilotriacetic acid, and the phytohormone kinetin on the As concentration and speciation in mesquite (Prosopis sp.). The results give an insight about how a desert plant absorbs, bioreduces, distributes and stores this toxic metalloid.

Abstract. The aim of the present research was to study the effects of cysteine (Cys), cyclohexylenedinitrotetraacetic acid (CDTA), nitrilotriacetic acid (NTA), and kinetin (KN) on the arsenic (As) concentration and speciation in mesquite (Prosopis sp.) grown in soil containing 30 ppm (parts per million) of AsIII or 50 ppm of AsV. Inductively coupled plasma–optical emission spectroscopy (ICP-OES) determinations revealed that, compared with As alone, roots of plants treated with 2.5 mM CDTA or 0.5 mM of Cys + 100 μM KN increased total As concentration from AsIII by ~20 and 36% and from AsV by 100 and 65%, respectively. Liquid chromatography–inductively coupled plasma–mass spectrometry (LC-ICP-MS) studies revealed that in roots, AsIII remained without change, whereas both AsIII and AsV were found in plants grown with AsV. X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) studies revealed that As within plants was mainly coordinated to three sulfur atoms, with interatomic distances of 2.26 Å. Results suggests that Cys + KN increased the mesquite tolerance to AsV, because plants grown in AsV had roots of similar size to plants grown without As.

Additional keywords: DRC ICP-MS, kinetin, metalloid, speciation, XAS.


Acknowledgements

The authors acknowledge the University of Texas at El Paso’s Center for Environmental Resource Management through funding from the Environmental Protection Agency and the National Science Foundation grants 0723115 and 0521650. Jorge Gardea-Torresdey acknowledges the Dudley family for the Endowed Research Professorship in Chemistry and the Library, Equipment, Repair and Rehabilitation and Science and the Technology Acquisition and Retention Program of the University of Texas System. Jorge Gardea-Torresdey also acknowledges the funding from the NSF–EPA-funded UC Center for Environmental Implications of Nanotechnology (grant EF-0830117). Martha L. Lopez also acknowledges the Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnologia of Mexico (CONACyT) for its financial support.


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