Plants vary considerably in their physiological response to selenium (Se). Some plant species growing on seleniferous soils are Se tolerant and accumulate very high concentrations of Se (Se accumulators), but most plants are Se nonaccumulators and are Se-sensitive. This review summarizes knowledge of the physiology and biochemistry of both types of plants, particularly with regard to Se uptake and transport, biochemical pathways of assimilation, volatilization and incorporation into proteins, and mechanisms of toxicity and tolerance. Molecular approaches are providing new insights into the role of sulfate transporters and sulfur assimilation enzymes in selenate uptake and metabolism, as well as the question of Se essentiality in plants. Recent advances in our understanding of the plant's ability to metabolize Se into volatile Se forms (phytovolatilization) are discussed, along with the application of phytoremediation for the cleanup of Se contaminated environments.

With the completion of the Arabidopsis genome sequencing project, the next major challenge is the large-scale determination of gene function. As a model organism for agricultural biotechnology, Arabidopsis presents the opportunity to provide key insights into the way that gene function can affect commercial crop production. In an attempt to aid in the rapid discovery of gene function, we have established a high throughput phenotypic analysis process based on a series of defined growth stages that serve both as developmental landmarks and as triggers for the collection of morphological data. The data collection process has been divided into two complementary platforms to ensure the capture of detailed data describing Arabidopsis growth and development over the entire life of the plant. The first platform characterizes early seedling growth on vertical plates for a period of 2 weeks. The second platform consists of an extensive set of measurements from plants grown on soil for a period of approximately 2 months. When combined with parallel processes for metabolic and gene expression profiling, these platforms constitute a core technology in the high throughput determination of gene function. We present here analyses of the development of wild-type Columbia (Col-0) plants and selected mutants to illustrate a framework methodology that can be used to identify and interpret phenotypic differences in plants resulting from genetic variation and/or environmental stress.

inhibited SeO 3 and SeMeth uptake by 33% and 15± 25%, respectively, as compared to an inhibition of 90% of SeO 4 uptake. Similar results were observed with regard to sulfate eects on volatilization. We conclude that reduction from SeO 4 to SeO 3 appears to be a ratelimiting step in the production of volatile Se compounds by plants. Inhibitory eects of sulfate on the uptake and volatilization of Se may be reduced substantially if Se is supplied as, or converted to, SeO 3 and/or SeMeth rather than SeO 4 .

There has been much interest recently in the use of constructed wetlands for the removal of toxic trace elements from wastewaters. Wetland plants play an important role in the trace elements removal process. It is not known, however, which wetland plant species absorb specific trace elements at the fastest rates. Such knowledge is essential to maximize the efficiency of trace element removal by wetlands. In this study, we investigated the potential of duckweed (Lemna minor L.) to accumulate Cd, Cr, Cu, Ni, Pb, and Se when supplied individually in a nutrient solution at a series of concentrations ranged from 0.1 to 10 mg L−1. The results show that under experimental conditions, duckweed proved to be a good accumulator of Cd, Se, and Cu, a moderate accumulator of Cr, and a poor accumulator of Ni and Pb. The highest concentrations of each trace element accumulated in duckweed tissues were 13.3 g Cd kg−1, 4.27 g Se kg−1, 3.36 g Cu kg−1, 2.87 g Cr kg−1, 1.79 g Ni kg−1, and 0.63 g Pb kg−1. Duckweed exhibited some symptoms of toxicity (e.g., reduced growth, chlorosis) at higher levels of element supply (except for Cr). The toxicity effect of each trace element on plant growth was, in descending order of damage, Cu > Se > Pb > Cd > Ni > Cr. We conclude that duckweed shows promise for the removal of Cd, Se, and Cu from contaminated wastewater since it accumulates high concentrations of these elements. Further, the growth rates and harvest potential make duckweed a good species for phytoremediation activities.

With the completion of the Arabidopsis genome sequencing project, the next major challenge is the large-scale determination of gene function. As a model organism for agricultural biotechnology, Arabidopsis presents the opportunity to provide key insights into the way that gene function can affect commercial crop production. In an attempt to aid in the rapid discovery of gene function, we have established a high throughput phenotypic analysis process based on a series of defined growth stages that serve both as developmental landmarks and as triggers for the collection of morphological data. The data collection process has been divided into two complementary platforms to ensure the capture of detailed data describing Arabidopsis growth and development over the entire life of the plant. The first platform characterizes early seedling growth on vertical plates for a period of 2 weeks. The second platform consists of an extensive set of measurements from plants grown on soil for a period of ‫ف‬ 2 months. When combined with parallel processes for metabolic and gene expression profiling, these platforms constitute a core technology in the high throughput determination of gene function. We present here analyses of the development of wild-type Columbia (Col-0) plants and selected mutants to illustrate a framework methodology that can be used to identify and interpret phenotypic differences in plants resulting from genetic variation and/or environmental stress.

Trivalent chromium (Cr 3 ) is essential for animal and human health, whereas hexavalent Cr (CrO 2À 4 ) is a potent carcinogen and extremely toxic to animals and humans. Thus, the accumulated Cr in food plants may represent potential health hazards to animals and humans if the element is accumulated in the hexavalent form or in high concentrations. This study was conducted to determine the extent to which various vegetable crops absorb and accumulate Cr 3 and CrO 2À 4 into roots and shoots and to ascertain the dierent chemical forms of Cr in these tissues. Two greenhouse hydroponic experiments were performed using a recirculating-nutrient culture technique that allowed all plants to be equally supplied with Cr at all times. In the ®rst experiment, 1 mg L A1 Cr was supplied to 11 vegetable plant species as Cr 3 or CrO 2À 4 , and the accumulation of Cr in roots and shoots was compared. The crops tested included cabbage (Brassica oleracea L. var. capitata L.), cauli¯ower (Brassica oleracea L. var. botrytis L.), celery (Apium graveolens L. var. dulce (Mill.) Pers.), chive (Allium schoenoprasum L.), collard (Brassica oleracea L. var. acephala DC.), garden pea (Pisum sativum L.), kale (Brassica oleracea L. var. acephala DC.), lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.), onion (Allium cepa L.), spinach (Spinacia oleracea L.), and strawberry (Fragaria´ananassa Duch.). In the second experiment, X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) analysis on Cr in plant tissues was performed in roots and shoots of various vegetable plants treated with CrO 2À 4 at either 2 mg Cr L À1 for 7 d or 10 mg Cr L À1 for 2, 4 or 7 d. The crops used in this experiment included beet (Beta vulgaris L. var. crassa (Alef.) J. Helm), broccoli (Brassica oleracea L. var. Italica Plenck), cantaloupe (Cucumis melo L. gp. Cantalupensis), cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.), lettuce, radish (Raphanus sativus L.), spinach, tomato (Lycopersicon lycopersicum (L.) Karsten), and turnip (Brassica rapa L. var. rapifera Bailey). The XAS speciation analysis indicates that CrO 2À 4 is converted in the root to Cr 3 by all plants tested. Translocation of both Cr forms from roots to shoots was extremely limited and accumulation of Cr by roots was 100-fold higher than that by shoots, regardless of the Cr species supplied. Highest Cr concentrations were detected in members of the Brassicaceae family such as cauli¯ower, kale, and cabbage. Based on our observations and previous ®ndings by other researchers, a hypothesis for the dierential accumulation and identical translocation patterns of the two Cr ions is proposed.

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Wetland plants are being used successfully for the phytoremediation of trace elements in natural and constructed wetlands. This study demonstrates the potential of water hyacinth (Eichhornia crassipes), an aquatic floating plant, for the phytoremediation of six trace elements. The ability of water hyacinth to take up and translocate six trace elements—As(V), Cd(II), Cr(VI), Cu(II), Ni(II), and Se(VI)—was studied under controlled conditions. Water hyacinth accumulated Cd and Cr best, Se and Cu at moderate levels, and was a poor accumulator of As and Ni. The highest levels of Cd found in shoots and roots were 371 and 6103 mg kg−1 dry wt., respectively, and those of Cr were 119 and 3951 mg kg−1 dry wt., respectively. Cadmium, Cr, Cu, Ni, and As were more highly accumulated in roots than in shoots. In contrast, Se was accumulated more in shoots than in roots at most external concentrations. Water hyacinth had high trace element bioconcentration factors when supplied with low external concentrations of all six elements, particularly Cd (highest BCF = 2150), Cr (1823), and Cu (595). Therefore, water hyacinth will be very efficient at phytoextracting trace elements from wastewater containing low concentrations of these elements. We conclude that water hyacinth is a promising candidate for phytoremediation of wastewater polluted with Cd, Cr, Cu, and Se.