The effect of EDDS chelate and inoculation with the arbuscular mycorrhizal fungus Glomus intraradices on the efficacy of lead phytoextraction by two tobacco clones

Two pot experiments were conducted to investigate the effect of inoculation with the arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungus Glomus intraradices on Pb uptake by two clones of Nicotiana tabacum plants. Non-transgenic tobacco plants, variety Wisconsin 38, were compared in terms of Pb uptake with transgenic plants of the same variety with inserted gene coding for polyhistidine anchor in fusion with yeast metallothionein. Bioavailability of Pb in experimentally contaminated soil was enhanced by the application of a biodegradable chelate ethylenediaminedissuccinate (EDDS).EDDS addition (2.5 and 5.0 mmol kg−1 substrate) increased Pb uptake from the substrate and enhanced Pb translocation from the roots to the shoots, with shoot Pb concentrations reaching up to 800 mg kg−1 at the higher chelate dose. Application of a single dose of 5 mmol kg−1 proved to be more efficient at increasing shoot Pb concentrations than two successive doses of 2.5 mmol kg−1, in spite of a marked negative effect on plant growth and phytotoxicity symptoms. Pb amendment (1.4 g kg−1 substrate) connected with either dose of EDDS decreased significantly plant biomass as well as reduced the development of AM fungi. AM inoculation promoted the growth of tobacco plants and partly alleviated the negative effect of Pb contamination, mainly in the case of root biomass.No consistent difference in Pb uptake was found between transgenic and non-transgenic tobacco plants. The effect of AM inoculation on Pb concentrations in plant biomass varied between experiments, with no effect observed in the first experiment and significantly higher root Pb concentrations and increased root–shoot ratio of Pb concentrations in the biomass of inoculated plants in the second experiment. Due to probable retention of Pb in fungal mycelium, the potential of AM for phytoremediation resides rather in Pb stabilisation than in phytoextraction.