Chen Liang;Long XiaoHua;Zhang ZhenHua;Zheng XiaoTao;Rengel, Z.;Liu ZhaoPu

Jiangsu Provincial Key Laboratory of Marine Biology, College of Resources and Environmental Sciences, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing 210095 (China);Soil Science and Plant Nutrition, School of Earth and Environment, the University of Western Australia, 35 Stirling Highway, Crawley WA 6009 (Australia)

bioaccumulation;biofuels;cadmium;capacity;chlorophyll;cultivars;ethanol;ethanol production;heavy metals;jerusalem artichokes;malondialdehyde;metal tolerance;phytoremediation;pollutants;pollution;remediation;removal;roots;soil;soil science;stress;tolerance;translocation;helianthus;helianthus tuberosus;plants;asteraceae;asterales;dicotyledons;angiosperms;spermatophyta;plants;eukaryotes;helianthus;artichokes;cultivated varieties;environmental pollution;ethyl alcohol

Jerusalem artichoke (Helianthus tuberosus L.) not just can be used for bioethanol production but may be potentially used in phytoremediation for the removal of heavy metal pollutants. Two Jerusalem artichoke cultivars, N2 and N5, were subjected to six cadmium (Cd) concentrations (0, 5, 25, 50, 100 and 200 mg L^-1) to investigate Cd tolerance and accumulation. After 21 days of growth, the effects of Cd on growth, chlorophyll content, net photosynthetic rate, intercellular CO₂ concentration and malondialdehyde content were evaluated. Most growth parameters were reduced under Cd stress. The two Jerusalem artichoke cultivars had relatively high Cd tolerance and accumulation capacity (>100 mg kg^-1), with N5 being more tolerant and having higher Cd accumulation than N2. Roots accumulate more Cd than stems and leaves. The bioconcentration factors (far higher than 1) and translocation factors (lower than 1) decreased with an increase in Cd applied. The results suggested that Jerusalem artichoke could be grown at relatively high Cd loads, and N5 could be an excellent candidate for phytoremediation of Cd-contaminated soils.