Thallium and potassium uptake kinetics and competition differ between durum wheat and canola.

Thallium (Tl) is very toxic to mammals but little is known about its accumulation by plants, and it would be useful if prediction of Tl accumulation could be done using potassium (K) accumulation models. The objectives of this study were to compare the uptake kinetics of Tl(+) and K(+), and to determine how readily K(+) can inhibit Tl(+) uptake. Durum wheat (Triticum turgidum L.

Plant uptake and translocation of inorganic and organic forms of selenium.

Selenium (Se) plays a role in human health: It is an essential trace element but can be toxic if too much is consumed. The aim of this study was to determine which species of Se are most rapidly taken up and translocated to above-ground plant tissues. Specifically, we wished to determine if organic forms of Se in an exposure solution can contribute to the amount of Se found in shoot tissue.

The biotic ligand model for plants and metals: technical challenges for field application.

To improve predictions of phytoavailable metal, the mechanistic bases of bioaccumulation and toxicity of metals to plants can be integrated into a biotic ligand model (BLM). There are a number of significant challenges to the application of the BLM to plants in soils, including reliable measurements of free ion concentrations for the metals of interest in rhizospheric soil solution, as well as other free ions, and concentrations of ligands to which the ions could bind; identification of the simplest model that can adequately predict root accumulation, and the potential for more complex models to add accuracy to the predictions; incorporating the dissociation of labile metal complexes (i.e.

Accumulation of cadmium by durum wheat roots: bases for citrate-mediated exceptions to the free ion model.

The accumulation of Cd in durum wheat (Triticum turgidum) roots from hydroponic solutions, with the proportion of total Cd (8.9-445 nM Cd) as Cd2+ varied by the addition of citrate, was determined to test the free-ion model (FIM) of metal bioavailability for higher plants. Calcium, Mg, and K were also varied.