Browse > Article
http://dx.doi.org/10.12989/aer.2014.3.3.207

Phytotoxic effects of mercury on seed germination and seedling growth of Albizia lebbeck (L.) Benth. (Leguminosae)  

Iqbal, Muhammad Zafar (Department of Botany, University of Karachi)
Shafiq, Muhammad (Department of Botany, University of Karachi)
Athar, Mohammad (California Department of Food and Agriculture)
Publication Information
Advances in environmental research / v.3, no.3, 2014 , pp. 207-216 More about this Journal
Abstract
A study was conducted to determine the phytotoxic effect of mercury on seed germination and seedling growth of an important arid legume tree Albizia lebbeck. The seeds germination and seedling growth performance of A. lebbeck responded differently to mercuric chloride treatment (1 mM, 3 mM, 5 mM and 7 mM) as compared to control. Seed germination of A. lebbeck was significantly (p < 0.05) affected by mercury treatment at 1 mM. Root growth of A. lebbeck was not significantly affected by mercury treatment at 1 mM, and 3 mM. Shoot and root length of A. lebbeck were significantly (p < 0.05) affected by 5 mM concentration of mercury treatment. Increase in concentration of mercury treatment at 5 mM and 7 mM significantly (p < 0.05) reduced seedling dry weight of A. lebbeck. The treatment of mercury at 1 mM decreased high percentage of seed germination (22%), seedling length (10%), root length (21.85%) and seedling dry weight (9%). Highest decrease in seed germination (51%), seedling (34%), root length (48%) and seedling dry weight (41%) of A. lebbeck occurred at 7 mM mercury treatment. A. lebbeck showed high percentage of tolerance (78.14%) to mercury at 1 mM. However, 7 mM concentration of mercury produced lowest percentage of tolerance (51.65%) in A. lebbeck. The seed germination potential and seedling vigor index (SVI) clearly decreased with the higher level of mercury. Plantation of A. lebbeck in mercury-polluted area will help in reducing the burden of mercury pollution. A. lebbeck can serve better in coordinating in land management programs in metal contaminated areas. The identification of the toxic concentration of metals and tolerance indices of A. lebbeck would also be helpful for the establishment of air quality standard.
Keywords
mercury; seed germination; growth; seedling vigor index; tolerance; toxicity; Albizia lebbeck; tree;
Citations & Related Records
연도 인용수 순위
  • Reference
1 Yadav, S.K. (2010), "Heavy metals toxicity in plants: An overview on the role of glutathione and phytochelatins in heavy metal stress tolerance of plants", S. Afr. J. Bot., 76(2), 167-179.   DOI
2 Bewly, J.D. and Black, B.M. (1982), "Germination of seeds", Physiolgy and Biochemistry of Seed Germination, (A.A. Khan Ed.), Springer Verlag. New York, pp. 40-80.
3 Bini, C. and Bech, J. (2014), PHEs, Environment and Human Health, Springer Science + Business Media, Dordrecht, Netherlands.
4 Boszke, L., Kowalski, A., Astel, A., Baranski, A., Gworek, B. and Siepak, J. (2008), "Mercury mobility and bioavailability in soil from contaminated area", Environ. Geol., 55(5), 1075-1087.   DOI
5 Che, D., Meagher, R.B., Heaton, A.C.P., Lima, A., Rugh, C.L. and Merkle, S.A. (2003), "Expression of mercuric ion reductase in Eastern cottonwood (Populus deltoides) confers mercuric ion reduction and resistance", Plant Biotechnol. J., 1(4), 311-319.   DOI   ScienceOn
6 Cho, U. and Park, J.O. (2000), "Mercury-induced oxidative stress in tomato seedlings", Plant Sci., 156(1), 1-9.   DOI   ScienceOn
7 Comino, E., Fiorucci, A., Menegatti, S. and Marocco, C. (2009), "Preliminary test of arsenic and mercury uptake by Poa annua", Ecol. Engg., 35(3), 343-350.   DOI
8 Crane, S., Barkay, T. and Dighton, J. (2012), "The effect of mercury on the establishment of Pinus rigida seedlings and the development of their ectomycorrhizal communities", Fungal Ecol., 5(2), 245-251.   DOI
9 Dunagan, S.C., Gilmore, M.S. and Varekamp, J.C. (2007), "Effects of mercury on visible/near-infrared reflectance spectra of mustard spinach plants (Brassica rapa L.)", Environ. Poll., 148(1), 301-311.   DOI
10 Gao, S., Ou-Yang, C., Tang, L., Zhu, J., Xu, Y. and Chen, F. (2010), "Growth and antioxidant responses in Jatropha curcas seedling exposed to mercury toxicity", J. Hazard. Mat., 182(1-3), 591-597.   DOI
11 Gill, H.K. and Garg, H. (2014), Pesticides: Toxic Aspects, Chapter 8. Pesticides: Environmental Impacts and Management Strategies, (Larramendy, M.L. and Soloneski, S. Eds.), InTech, pp. 187-230.
12 Iqbal, M.Z. and Rahmati, K. (1992), "Tolerance of Albizia lebbeck to Cu and Fe application", Ekologia (CSFR), 11(4), 427-430.
13 Jean-Philippe, S.R., Franklin, J.A., Buckley, D.S. and Hughes, K. (2011), "The effect of mercury on trees and their mycorrhizal fungi", Environ. Poll., 159(10), 2733-2739.   DOI
14 Kacalkova, L., Tlustos, P. and Szakova J. (2009), "Phytoextraction of cadmium, copper, zinc and mercury by selected plants", Plant Soil Environ, 55, 295-304.
15 Nuzhat, A., Jameela, A., Munawar, R. and Atta-ur-Rahman, (2005), "Hydrolysis of a fungicides, buprimate by indigenous Achrombacher sp.", Int. J. Biol. Biotechnol., 2, 357-363.
16 Kralova, K. and Masarovieova, E. (2006), "Plants for the future", Ecol. Chem. Engg., 13(11), 1179-1207.
17 Kranner, I. and Colville, L. (2011), "Metals and seeds: Biochemical and molecular implications and their significance for seed germination", Environ. Exp. Bot., 72(1), 93-105.   DOI
18 Rajput, M.A., Pathan, M.A., Lodhi, A.M., Shah, G.S. and Khanzada, K.A. (2005), "Studies on seed borne fungi of wheat in Sindh Province and their effect on seed germination", Pakistan J. Bot., 37(1), 181-185.
19 Patra, M., Bhowmik, N., Bandopadhyay, B. and Sharma, A. (2004), "Comparison of mercury, lead and arsenic with respect to genotoxic effects on plant systems and the development of genetic tolerance", Environ. Exp. Bot., 52(3), 199-223.   DOI   ScienceOn
20 Perez-Sanz, A., Millan, R., Sierra, M.J., Alarcon, R., Garcia, P., Gil-Diaz, M., Vazquez, S. and Lobo, M.C. (2012), "Mercury uptake by Silene vulgaris grown on contaminated spiked soils", J. Environ. Manage., 95(Supplement), S233-S237.   DOI
21 Rea, A.W., Lindberg, S.E., Scherbatskoy, T. and Keeler, G.J. (2002), "Mercury accumulation in foliage over time in two northern mixed-hardwood forests", Water, Air, Soil Poll., 133(1-4), 49-67.   DOI
22 Rodriguez, E., Peralta-Videa, J.R., Israr, M., Sahi, S.V., Pelayo, H., Sanchez-Salcido, B. and Gardea-Torresdey, J.L.G. (2009), "Effect of mercury and gold on growth, nutrient uptake, and anatomical changes in Chilopsis linearis", Environ. Exp. Bot., 65(2-3), 253-262.   DOI
23 Sobral-Souza, C., Leite, N.F., Cunha, F.A.B., Pinho, A.I., Albuquerque, R.S., Carneiro, J.N.P., Menezes, I.R.A., Costa, J.G.M., Franco, J.L. and Coutinho, H.D.M. (2014), "Cytoprotective effect against mercury chloride and bioinsecticidal activity of Eugenia jambolana Lam.", Arabian J. Chem., 7(1), 165-170.   DOI
24 Sakoar, A. and Sasdhar, J. (1986), "Heavy metal pollutant tolerance of Azolla pinnata", Water, and Soil Poll., 27(1-2), 15-18.   DOI
25 Torre, V.S.G., Pena, T.C., Lucas, M.M. and Pueyo, J.J. (2013), "Rapid screening of Medicago truncatula germplasm for mercury tolerance at the seedling stage", Environ. Exp. Bot., 91, 90-96.   DOI
26 Sipkova, A., Szakova1, J., Coufalik, P. and Tlustos, P. (2012), "The effectivity of various extraction agents to release mercury from anthropogenically contaminated soils", Biosorption and Bioaccumulation of Heavy Metals, (Petra Lovecka, Martina Novakova, Petra Prouzova and Ondrej Uhlik eds.), Institute of Chemical Technology, (ICT) Prague Press, Technicka, Praha , Czech Republic, pp. 46-49.
27 Szollosi, R. (2014), "Superoxide dismutase (SOD) and abiotic stress tolerance in plants: An overview", Oxidative Damage to Plants. Antioxidant Networks and Signaling, (P. Ahmad ed.), Academic Press, London, pp- 89-129.
28 Tort, N., Ozturk, I. and Guvensen, A. (2005), "Effects of some fungicides on pollen morphology and anatomy of tomato (Lycopersicon esulentum Mill.)", Pakistan J. Bot., 37, 23-30.
29 Willigen, C.V., Postaire, O., Roux, C.T., Boursiac, Y. and Maurel, C. (2006), "Expression and inhibition of aquaporins in germinating Arabidopsis seeds", Plant Cell Physiol., 47(9), 1241-1250.   DOI
30 Ge, C., Ding, Y., Wang, Z., Wan, D., Wang, Y., Shang, Q. and Luo, S. (2009), "Responses of wheat seedlings to cadmium, mercury and trichlorobenzene stresses", J. Environ. Sci., 21(6), 806-813.   DOI
31 Rodrigues, S.M., Henriques, B., Coimbra, J., Ferreira da Silva, E., Pereira, M.E. and Duarte, A.C. (2010), "Water-soluble fraction of mercury, arsenic and other potentially toxic elements in highly contaminated sediments and soils", Chemosphere, 78(11), 1301-1312.   DOI
32 Zhou, Z.S., Guo, K., Elbaz, A.A. and Yang, Z.M. (2009), "Salicylic acid alleviates mercury toxicity by preventing oxidative stress in roots of Medicago sativa", Environ. Exp. Bot., 65(1), 27-34.   DOI
33 Bhatia, H., Sharma, Y.P., Manhas, R.K. and Kumar, K. (2014), "Ethnomedicinal plants used by the villagers of district Udhampur, J&K, India", J. Ethnopharm., 151(2), 1005-1018.   DOI