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Roles of Organic Acids and Nitrate in the Long-Distance Transport of Cobalt in Xylem Saps of Alyssum murale and Trifolium subterraneum

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Abstract

Roles of organic acids and nitrate in the long-distance transport of cobalt (Co) in xylem saps of hyperaccumulator Alyssum murale and non-hyperaccumulator Trifolium subterraneum were studied under hydroponic conditions. Organic acids (oxalic, malic, malonic, citric, and fumaric) and nitrate in xylem sap samples were separated and determined simultaneously by reversed-phase high performance liquid chromatography after solid-phase extraction with nanosized hydroxyapatite. Results indicated that Co treatment significantly increased the concentrations of xylem oxalic and malic acids for the hyperaccumulator A. murale compared to the control but significantly decreased the concentrations of xylem nitrate and malonic acid; concentrations of citric acid in xylem sap samples did not show significant difference between the control and Co treatments. By analyzing the relationship between the concentrations of organic acids, nitrate, and concentrations of Co in xylem saps, it could be concluded that oxalic and malic acids in xylem saps seemed to participate in the long-distance Co translocation process, and citric acid did not relate to the xylem Co transport of A. murale and T. subterraneum. Our work might be very useful for understanding the mechanism of long-distance transport of heavy metals in hyperaccumulator.

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Acknowledgements

This work is supported by the National Programs for High Technology Research and Development of China (no. 2007AA10Z406), the Research Fund for the Doctoral Program of Higher Education (no. 20070307051), and the Foundation for Talent Recommendation Program of Nanjing Agricultural University (no. 030-804076).

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  1. College of Resources and Environmental Sciences, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, 210095, People’s Republic of China

    Wei Wei, Yu Wang, Zheng-Gui Wei, Hai-Yan Zhao, Hui-Xin Li & Feng Hu

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  1. Wei Wei
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Correspondence to Zheng-Gui Wei.

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Wei, W., Wang, Y., Wei, ZG. et al. Roles of Organic Acids and Nitrate in the Long-Distance Transport of Cobalt in Xylem Saps of Alyssum murale and Trifolium subterraneum . Biol Trace Elem Res 131, 165–176 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12011-009-8360-7

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