Comparative study of Cd tolerance and accumulation potential between Cakile maritima L. (halophyte) and Brassica juncea L.

In this work we evaluated Cd-phytoextraction ability of the halophyte Cakile maritima comparatively to the glycophyte Brassica juncea commonly recommended for phytoextraction. Seedlings were grown in nutrient solution added with 0-100 mu M Cd for 21 days. Cd impaired growth in B. juncea but had no significant impact on C maritima. The halophyte C. maritima maintained also higher photosynthetic activity than the glycophyte B. juncea. Cd decreased leaf chlorophyll (Chl) and carotenoids concentrations as well as PSII efficiency (F-v/F-m, F-v/F-o and Phi(PSII)) in B. juncea while it increased intercellular CO2 concentration in this species. Shoot Cd content was higher in the halophyte C. maritima reaching 1365 mu g g(-1) dw at 100 mu M while it was 548 tigg-ldw in B. juncea at the same dose. The translocation factor (TF) was higher for C. maritima than for B. juncea at all external Cd doses. It is concluded that the halophyte C. maritima could be considered as a promising plant material for Cd-phytoextraction. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.