Soil fungi help plants shrug off lead contamination in soil
Yeznasni HE, Chafai W, Gagou E, Alzain MN, Noman O
Phytoremediation
If you've ever wondered whether plants can help clean up an old industrial or mining site, this study shows that pairing them with the right underground fungal partners makes them dramatically better at tolerating the toxic metals in that soil.
Scientists grew garden cress in lead-contaminated soil, some paired with native mycorrhizal fungi (tiny root-partner fungi found naturally in soil) and some without. The fungi-partnered plants grew greener, packed in nearly twice the sugars, built up more of the stress-protective compound proline, and ramped up an antioxidant enzyme by over half compared to their unpartnered neighbors. The fungi also produced a sticky soil protein that helps lock up contaminants, making the whole system better at both surviving pollution and cleaning it up.
Key Findings
Mycorrhizal inoculation increased chlorophyll a by ~36% and chlorophyll b by ~17% compared to non-mycorrhizal plants under lead stress
Total soluble sugars roughly doubled in mycorrhizal plants, alongside increased proline accumulation for stress protection
Catalase antioxidant enzyme activity rose by ~55% in mycorrhizal plants, and glomalin-related soil proteins increased in the rhizosphere
chevron_right Technical Summary
Adding beneficial soil fungi helped garden cress cope with toxic lead contamination, boosting its chlorophyll, sugar, and stress-fighting enzyme levels compared to plants grown without the fungal partners.
Abstract Preview
Original paper
Antioxidant Response of Lepidium sativum L. to Metallic Trace Element Stress Under Controlled Mycorrhization Conditions.
Abandoned mining sites are major sources of metallic trace element contamination, which negatively affects plant growth, physiological functions, and metabolic activities. In addition, stress cause...
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Cress, sometimes referred to as garden cress to distinguish it from similar plants also referred to as cress, is a fast-growing, edible herb.