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Molecular diversity and metal accumulation of different Thlaspi praecox populations from Slovenia

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Abstract

Nuclear ribosomal sequences and Cd, Zn, Pb and Fe accumulation of different populations of the recently discovered Cd/Zn-hyperaccumulating species Thlaspi praecox Wulfen (Noccaea) were studied to reveal their relationships to other representatives of the genus and especially to the well known hyperaccumulator T. caerulescens; comparisons of their accumulating properties were also made. Internal transcribed spacer (ITS) rDNA sequences from eight T. praecox populations from Slovenia showed 99% similarity and formed a sister group to T. caerulescens. Divergence estimates from the ITS rDNA support the origins of T. praecox in the Early Pleistocene, with further fragmentation of T. praecox populations in Slovenia since the Middle Pleistocene. Cd-hyperaccumulating features (>100 mg Cd kg−1 in the above-ground biomass) of T. praecox were seen for two populations collected at polluted sites (Žerjav and Mežica) and one population collected at a non-polluted site (Lokovec). The variability of the Cd concentrations in shoots was almost completely explained by the soil Cd concentrations, and were positively correlated with shoot Zn and Pb concentrations. The results from this molecular and metal accumulation characterisation of T. praecox populations provide new insights into the taxonomic affinities and accumulation potential of this hyperaccumulating species.

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Acknowledgements

The authors are indebted to Assoc. Prof. Dr. Damjana Drobne for access to the AAS for the element analysis. The work was supported by the following projects: MSZS P1-0212 Biology of Plants Research Programme, “Young researchers” and EU COST 859. A scholarship from the World Federation of Scientists and a National Fellowship awarded by L’OREAL-UNESCO-The Slovenian Science Foundation to P. Pongrac are gratefully acknowledged.

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  1. Biotechnical Faculty, Department of Biology, University of Ljubljana, Večna pot 111, 1000, Ljubljana, Slovenia

    Matevž Likar, Paula Pongrac, Katarina Vogel-Mikuš & Marjana Regvar

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  1. Matevž Likar
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  2. Paula Pongrac
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  3. Katarina Vogel-Mikuš
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  4. Marjana Regvar
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Correspondence to Matevž Likar.

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Likar, M., Pongrac, P., Vogel-Mikuš, K. et al. Molecular diversity and metal accumulation of different Thlaspi praecox populations from Slovenia. Plant Soil 330, 195–205 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-009-0192-x

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