Despite of the downward acclimation of photosynthesis in C. convoluta, increased net photosynthesis and carbon balance can be anticipated in response to elevated atmospheric C 0 2 level. C 0 2 exchange measurement seems to be more indicative when detecting heavy metal stress than fluorescence parameters. Among these, the relative fluorescence decrease ratio (RFd690) shows damage first, suggesti...

The effect of 24-epibrassinolide (24-epiBL) on seedling growth, metal uptake and accumulation were investigated in seedlings of Brassica juncea L. cv. PBR 91. Seeds of B. juncea treated with different concentrations (0, 10-7, 10-9 and 10-11 M) of 24-epiBL for 8 h were subjected to various concentrations (0, 25, 50 and 100 mg l-1) of heavy metals (Zn, Mn, Co and Ni). Seedling growth was improved...

Arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) associations are integral, functioning parts of plant roots and are widely recognized as enhancing plant growth on severely disturbed sites, including those contaminated with heavy metals. They are reported to be present on the roots of plants growing on heavy metal contaminated soils and play an important role in metal tolerance and accumulation. Isolation of the in...

The chemical stress factors for microbial life at deep-sea hydrothermal vents include high concentrations of heavy metals and sulfide. Three hyperthermophilic vent archaea, the sulfur-reducing heterotrophs Thermococcus fumicolans and Pyrococcus strain GB-D and the chemolithoautotrophic methanogen Methanocaldococcus jannaschii, were tested for survival tolerance to heavy metals (Zn, Co, and Cu) ...

Plants endure a variety of abiotic and biotic stresses, all of which cause major limitations to production. Among abiotic stressors, heavy metal contamination represents a global environmental problem endangering humans, animals, and plants. Exposure to heavy metals has been documented to induce changes in the expression of plant proteins. Proteins are macromolecules directly responsible for mo...

In the present study, we used Illumina sequencing technology (HiSeq 2000) to sequence the transcriptome of barley (Hordeum vulgare L., cv. Morex) under three different heavy metal stress conditions: copper, zinc and cadmium. For each of those metals, the concentration causing a 50% inhibitory effect for root growth (EC50) was determined. We sequenced the total RNA of both roots and shoots from ...

The rate of global deposition of Cd, Pb, and Zn has decreased over the past few decades, but heavy metals already in the soil may be mobilized by local and global changes in soil conditions and exert toxic effects on soil microorganisms. We examined in vitro effects of Cd, Pb, and Zn on critical life stages in metal-sensitive ecotypes of arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi, including spore germin...

Aquatic agriculture in heavy-metal-polluted coastal areas faces major problems due to heavy metal transfer into aquatic organisms, leading to various unexpected changes in nutrition and primary and/or secondary metabolism. In the present study, the dual role of heavy metal copper (Cu) played in the metabolism of photosynthetic organism, the edible seaweed Sargassum fusiforme, was evaluated by c...