Biochar: Acinetobacter driven rhizoremediation of arsenic contaminated soil.
Hameed M, Umer M, Saeed M, Bostan N, Ilyas N
Summary
7.8/10Researchers combined arsenic-tolerant bacteria with biochar from cedar wood to clean contaminated soil, dramatically improving spinach growth and reducing soil arsenic levels by 43-47%. This approach offers a cost-effective, biological solution to remediate heavy-metal-contaminated agricultural land.
Key Findings
Co-application of Acinetobacter and biochar increased spinach shoot length by 22%, root length by 24%, and chlorophyll content by 22%
Arsenic content decreased by 43% in roots and 47% in shoots compared to contaminated control soil
Both biochar and Acinetobacter individually and synergistically increased enzymatic and non-enzymatic antioxidant content in spinach plants
Original Abstract
Arsenic accumulation is becoming a major pollutant fueled by natural and anthropogenic activities. Arsenic contamination degrades the soil fertility and make it unsuitable for plants growth. Various physical and chemical solutions can be used to decontaminate the soil but these solutions have many limitations. Rhizoremediation along biochar, a potential strategy to treat the arsenic contaminated soil and biochar also improves the soil nutrient content. Therefore, this research focused on mitigating arsenic toxicity via the arsenic-tolerant Acinetobacter in combination with biochar. Arsenic tolerant bacteria was isolated from arsenic contaminated soil and identified as Acinetobacter. Biochar was prepared from the wood shaving of Cedrus deodara. A pot experiment was designed to check the rhizoremediation potential of biochar and Acinetobacter in the rhizosphere of Spinach. It is the first study to evaluate the potential of Acinetobacter and the biochar on the nutritional and arsenic accumulation in spinach. The collection of soil samples for the isolation of bacterial strains was done from the arsenic-affected site and the preparation of biochar was done using the wood shaving of Cedrus deodara. A pot experiment was conducted to figure out the potential of isolated bacterial strains and biochar individually as well as synergistically. The co-application of Acinetobacter and biochar improved spinach's morphological (shoot length 22%, root length 24%), physiological (chlorophyll 22%) and biochemical (proline 24%, soluble sugar 30%) attributes in arsenic contaminated soil. Both biochar and Acinetobacter also increase enzymatic and non-enzymatic content in plant. Arsenic content of soil decreased by 43% in root and 47% in shoot with co-application of biochar and Acinetobacter. Rhizoremediation potential of Acinetobacter and biochar in the plant rhizosphere to reduce the arsenic content considered to be a promising strategy for heavy metal remediation in soil.
Species Mentioned
Spinach is a leafy green flowering plant native to Central and Western Asia. It is of the order Caryophyllales, family Amaranthaceae, subfamily Chenopodioideae. Its leaves are a common vegetable consumed either fresh, cooked or after storage. The taste differs considerably between cooked and raw:...
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