Chin J Plan Ecolo ›› 2015, Vol. 39 ›› Issue (3): 275-282.DOI: 10.17521/cjpe.2015.0027

• Orginal Article • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Eco-physiological responses of Polytrichum commune to soil contamination by polychlorinated biphenyls

WU Qi-Mei, ZHOU Qi-Xing*()   

  1. Key Laboratory of Pollution Processes and Environmental Criteria, Ministry of Education / Tianjin Key Laboratory of Remediation and Pollution Control for Urban Ecological Environment, College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Nankai University, Tianjin 300071, China
  • Online:2015-03-01 Published:2015-03-17
  • Contact: Qi-Xing ZHOU
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    # Co-first authors

Abstract: <i>Aims</i>

The objective of this study was to investigate the tolerance of Polytrichum commune to soil contamination by polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), and the underlying eco-physiological mechanisms.

<i>Methods</i>

Polytrichum commune was propagated and cultured in PCBs contaminated soil by means of micropropagation under laboratory conditions, and eco-physiological variables relating to tolerance to PCBs (Aroclor 1242 and Aroclor 1254) contamination were studied.

<i>Important findings</i>

The coverage and density of P. commune were higher than 93% and 50 plants·cm-2 and there was no significant difference between the PCBs treatments and the control. PCBs (Aroclor 1242 and Aroclor 1254) had no adverse effects on the regeneration of gametophyte fragments. The height and fresh mass of P. commune increased with an increase in the concentration of Aroclor 1242, and decreased with an increase in the concentration of Aroclor1254, but they were higher in the PCBs treatment than in the control, indicating that PCBs stimulated the growth of P. commune. The contents of chlorophyll (Chl) a, Chl b and Chl a + b in P. commune were slight higher in the PCBs treatments than in the control, and the ratio of Chl a/b maintained relatively stable in both the PCBs treatments and the control. The content of malondialdehyde and activity of superoxide dismutase in P. commune were not significantly different between the PCBs treatments and the control, whereas the content of glutathione was significantly higher in the PCBs treatments than in the control, indicating that glutathione played a pivotal role in the course of scavenging reactive oxygen species. The study demonstrated that the growth of P. commune was not adversely impacted by PCBs contaminated soil at given concentrations, reflecting its tolerance to PCBs.

Key words: eco-physiological response, pollution, polychlorinated biphenyls, Polytrichum commune