• Korean Journal of Environmental Agriculture
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• v.17 no.4
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• pp.312-318
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• 1998

The potentials of some Korean wild plants as a phytoremediator for cleaning heavy metal pollution were measured. Several plant species, Ambrosia trifida, Brassica juncea, Rumex crispus, and Abutilon theophrasti screened previously for phytoremediator were treated with cadmium and copper solution. In order to know the growth response to heavy metal stress, the plants were cultivated in hydroponic system containing heavy metals with different concentration. To know the effects of heavy metals on emergence and seedling growth, seeds of 4 species were sown in the pot and watered with heavy metal solution adjusted pH to 6.5, 5.5, and 4.5. A proposed species as potential phytoremediator, A. trifida, showed tolerance to $20{\mu}mol/L$ Cd and $80{\mu}mol/L$ Cu in nutrient solution without apparent growth reduction, and up to $100{\mu}mol/L$ Cd and $400{\mu}mol/L$ Cu without critical visual injury. Up to 311mg/kg of Cd and 369mg/kg were accumulated in dried aerial part in A. trifida. In contrast, A. theophrasti showed injury at $400{\mu}mol/L$ Cu. Significant differences were shown in Cu accumulation among the four species. A. trifida had much higher concentrations of Cd in the shoot, whereas R, crispus accumulated higher concentrations of Cd in the shoot. Testing plant species showed reduced emergence rate with heavy metal treatment. When pH was lowered, the emergence and seedling growth were affected severely with heavy metal. We can suggested that A. trifida was the most proper species for phytoremediation in heavy metal-polluted regions.

• Journal of Plant Biotechnology
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• v.34 no.4
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• pp.293-298
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• 2007

Robinia pseudoacacia var. umbraculifera, commonly called umbrella black locust were regenerated after co-cultivation of internode segments with Agrobacterium tumefaciens which included yeast cadmium factor 1 (YCF 1) gene. The tolerance to cadmium and lead for plants can be increased by the YCF1 gene expression. Moreover, the recent studies have shown that YCF1 gene transgenic plants increase the accumulation of cadmium and lead into plant vacuoles. The effect of plant growth regulator such as 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D), ${\alpha}$-naphthaleneacetic acid (NAA), 6-benzyladenine (BA), and thidiazuron (TDZ) were studied to evaluate the propagation of plants through internode explants. The efficient induction of multiple adventitious shoots and callus were observed on a medium supplemented with 0.1 mg/L TDZ + 0.2 mg/L BA. To induce shoot elongation and rooting, regenerated shoots were transferred into basal MS medium without any plant growth regulator. Successful Agrobacterium tumefaciens mediated transformation was obtained by 20 min vacuum-infiltration with $50{\mu}M$ acetosyringone on the optimal multiple shoot induction medium with 30 mg/L hygromycin and 300 mg/L cefotaxime. To confirm the integration and expression of transgene, Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) and Reverse Transcriptase PCR (RT-PCR) were performed with specific primers. The frequency of transformation was approximately 18.94%. This study can be used to genetic engineering of phytoremediator.

• Journal of Environmental Policy
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• v.12 no.4
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• pp.119-132
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• 2013

Hosta longipes is one of the most popular ornamental perennials in use in Korea today, and is mainly used as a groundcover plant in urban shaded places. In this study, the pytoremediation effect of Hosta longipes was tested using four concentrations (Control, 100, 250 and $500mg{\cdot}kg^{-1}$) of Cd, Pb and Zn in soil. The plants were planted in $300mm{\times}200mm{\times}250mm$ drainless-containers, which were filled with a artificial amended soil for 7 months. The results showed that the contents of heavy metals cadmium and lead in the shoot of Hosta longipes increased with increasing heavy metal concentration levels exception of zinc. The amount of zinc, cadmium, and lead accumulated in roots were increased with heavy metal concentration levels up in soil. The shoot/root ratios(TF; translocation factor) values were found to be more than 80% of total Zn, Cd, and Pb take up by Hosta longipes. These results indicated that root is the major part for accumulation of heavy metal. The removal contents of zinc, cadmium, and lead increased significantly with the increasing heavy metal concentration in the soil, which was planted with Hosta longipes. The heavy metal concentration accumulation in plant/soil ratios (BF; bioaccumulation factor) values for three metals were found to be more than 30% in cadmium and lead, but lower in zinc treatments. The different responses of Hosta longipes suggest that in heavy metal contaminated soils the plant adsorbs available metals depending on the concentration soils in which they are present. Therefore, this species can be an efficient phytoremediator for soils contaminated with cadmium and lead in urban shaded places.

• Korean Journal of Agricultural and Forest Meteorology
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• v.8 no.3
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• pp.159-168
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• 2006

In order to screen for the best species for mitigating air pollutants by plants at an industrial complex area, we investigated antioxidant capacity, lipid peroxidation and nitrogen content in the leaves of 27 taxa of woody plants that are mostly utilized as roadside trees. Among 27 taxa, the highest value of antioxidant capacity was given by Cedrus deodara (91.4%) and the lowest one was by Firmiana simplex (56.9%). At lipid peroxidation level, little malondialdehyde (MDA) was observed in Lagerstroemia indica and Ginkgo biloba, but Platanus occidentalis, Castanoposis cuspidata var, sieboldii, Machilus thunbergii and Juniperus chinensis showed high MDA content. Antioxidant capacity of the deciduous woody plants was not significantly different in comparison with that of the evergreen ones. But MDA content of the deciduous woody plants was lower than that of the evergreen ones. The 27 taxa of woody plants appeared to be classified into four types: those of high antioxidant capacity and low lipid peroxidation, those of high antioxidant capacity and high lipid peroxidation, those of low antioxidant capacity and low lipid peroxidation, and those of low antioxidant capacity and high lipid peroxidation. The taxa included in these types are 7 (first type), 6 (second one), 8 (third one) and 6 (fourth one) taxa. first or second type species which have a high antioxidant capacity represented low nitrogen content in their leaves. However, third or forth type species which have low antioxidant capacity showed high nitrogen content in their leaves. Metasequoia glyptostroboides, Platycarya strobilacra and P. occidentalis which belong to the first or second type had extraordinarily high antioxidant capacity and high nitrogen content. Thus, three species are considered to be good phytoremediators for an industrial complex area.

• Korean Journal of Soil Science and Fertilizer
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• v.36 no.5
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• pp.323-332
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• 2003

This study was carried out to provide information for the present status of soil pollution near abandoned old-zinc mining area through analysis of bound form and 0.1 N-HCl extractable concentrations of heavy metals in soils and plants. Feasibility of endemic plants for phytoremediation was evaluated by the investigation of vegetation in soils. Cd contents of the selected samples near old-zinc mining soils ranged from 0.2 to $42mg\;kg^{-1}$. Nonagricultural soils near the mining area contained great amounts of Zn, Pb, Cd, and Cu than the paddy and upland soils. Some Korean wild plants, Artemisia princeps, Artemisia montana, Erigeron canadensis, and Pueraria thunbergiana, were found to grow vigorously in the studied area. Among them, Artemisia princeps was selected as a possible phytoremediator for cleaning heavy metal contaminated soils. Artemisia princeps contained about 43 and $52mg\;kg^{-1}$ of Cd in their root and shoot as dry weight, respectively. Average contents of Cd in the rhizosphere soil, $15.68mg\;kg^{-1}$, was slightly higher than the soil-root interface soils, $14.1mg\;kg^{-1}$. Sequential extraction of Cd contaminated soils showed that average $2.4mg\;kg^{-1}$ (about 7%) of cadmium existed as exchangeable form and the average amounts increased as follows : adsorbed < organically bound < exchangeable << oxide carbonate << sulfide residual fractions. Amendment of organic by-product fertilizer in metal-contaminated soils promoted the growth of roots significantly as compared with the other treatments containing chemical fertilizer.