JOURNAL OF PLANT NUTRITION AND SOIL SCIENCE, cilt.170, sa.6, ss.788-795, 2007 (SCI-Expanded)
Increasing the mobilization and root uptake of chromium (Cr) by synthetic and plant-borne chelators might be relevant for the design of phytoremediation strategies on Cr-contaminated sites. Short-term uptake studies in maize roots supplied with 51CrCl3 or 51Cr(III)-EDTA led to higher apoplastic Cr contents in plant roots supplied with 51CrCl3 and in Fe-sufficient plants relative to Fe-deficient plants, indicating that Fe stimulated co-precipitation of Cr. Concentration-dependent retention of Cr in a methanol:chloroform-treated cell-wall fraction was still saturable and in agreement with the predicted tendency of Cr(III) to precipitate as Cr(OH)3. To investigate a possible stimulation of Cr(III) uptake by phytosiderophores, Fe-deficient maize roots were exposed for 6 d to Cr(III)-EDTA or Cr(III)-DMA (2'-deoxymugineic acid). Relative to plants without Cr supply, the supply of both chelated Cr species in a subtoxic concentration of 1 µM resulted in alleviation of Fe deficiency–induced chlorosis and higher Cr accumulation. Long-term Cr accumulation from Cr(III)-DMA was similar to that from Cr(III)-EDTA, and Cr uptake from both chelates was not altered in the maize mutant ys1, which is defective in metal-phytosiderophore uptake. We therefore conclude that phytosiderophores increase Cr solubility similar to synthetic chelators like EDTA, but do not additionally contribute to Cr(III) uptake from Cr-contaminated sites.