Electron Microscopic Studies on Localization of Lead in Organs of Typha angustifolia Grown on Contaminated Soil

Abstract

A greenhouse study was conducted to observe the localization of lead in narrow-leaved cattail, Typha angustifolia. Light and transmission electron microscopic studies were performed on root, rhizome and leaf of the cattail grown in control (75 kg dry weight of soil with no added lead) and in the same weight of soil amended with 20,000 mg lead nitrate. At 15 and 90 days after planting, most lead was accumulated in root cells around vacuoles and slowly transported to leaves. In the lead-contaminated soil, parts of the root cell wall were damaged at the end of the experiment. Lead was deposited in the rhizome near the cell wall. Similar deposits were observed in the roots and rhizomes suggesting that lead was transported and localized in a similar area, whereas the leaf cells accumulated lead in the chloroplasts.