Abstract
Aims
Knowledge on the ecophysiology of cobalt hyperaccumulator species is limited. The nickel hyperaccumulator Rinorea cf. bengalensis from Borneo can accumulate high concentrations of cobalt in nature. This study investigates the cobalt accumulation potential of Rinorea cf. bengalensis in relation to nickel concentrations in soils and the subsequent tissue and cellular-level distributions of cobalt, nickel and major cations.
Methods
Seedlings of Rinorea cf. bengalensis were grown in mixed treatments on ultramafic soil containing a high concentration of available nickel. Cobalt and nickel salts were then added to the soil to study their interactions. The tissue and cellular-level distributions of cobalt, calcium, nickel, and potassium were investigated using synchrotron-based X-ray fluorescence microscopy.
Results
The maximum foliar cobalt concentration reached 1200 μg g−1. Accumulation of cobalt competed with nickel accumulation although nickel seems to stimulate cobalt phloem translocation. Plants suffered toxicity in the treatment with the highest soil cobalt concentration. Cobalt and nickel have contrasting distribution patterns in the leaves of Rinorea cf. bengalensis, with cobalt mainly excreted on the surface of the leaves, whereas nickel is localised in foliar epidermal cells.
Conclusions
Rinorea cf. bengalensis can accumulate high concentrations of cobalt, but is intrinsically more tolerant to nickel. It does not rely on a similar sequestration mechanism for both metals, which could explain the lesser tolerance for cobalt. Nickel appears to be essential for the plant to tolerate high cobalt concentrations. Further studies intending to develop agronomic practices are needed to determine the viability of Rinorea cf. bengalensis for nickel-cobalt agromining.
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Acknowledgements
This research was undertaken at P06 at the Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron, a member of the Helmholtz Association (HGF). We thank Jan Garrevoet for technical support during the experiment. We acknowledge the Laboratory of Excellence Ressources 21 for financial support. The research leading to this result has been supported by the project CALIPSOplus under the Grant Agreement 730872 from the EU Framework Programme for Research and Innovation HORIZON 2020. A. van der Ent was the recipient of a Discovery Early Career Researcher Award (DE160100429) from the Australian Research Council. A.L.D Paul is the recipient of an Australian Government Research Training Program Scholarship and UQ Centennial Scholarship at The University of Queensland, Australia.
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A.L.D.P, P.N.N, G.E., S. S and A.vdE conducted the fieldwork and collected the samples in Malaysia. A.vdE, G.E. and K. S conducted the synchrotron X-ray Fluorescence Microscopy (XFM) experiment. AvdE performed the XFM data processing and analysis. All authors contributed to writing the manuscript.
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Paul, A.L.D., Nkrumah, P.N., Echevarria, G. et al. Cobalt hyperaccumulation in Rinorea cf. bengalensis (Violaceae) from Sabah: accumulation potential and tissue and cellular-level distribution of cobalt. Plant Soil 455, 289–303 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-020-04629-7
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-020-04629-7