INOCULATION OF A METALOPHYTIC PLANT WITH ARBUSCULAR MYCORRHIZAL FUNGI FROM LEAD CONTAMINATED SOILS

BECERRA A; MENOYO E; CABELLO M; PARDO A; SALAZAR J

Congreso; LVII SAIB Meeting - XVI SAMIGE Meeting; 2021

The city of Córdoba is one of the most polluted cities in Argentina, with a large number of industrial plants located in urbanand suburban areas. At 18 km from the capital of Córdoba is the town of Bouwer, considered one of the areas most affectedby heavy metal contamination. An acid battery recycling factory dedicated to the recovery of lead (Pb) operated irregularlybetween 1984 and 2005. The smelter emitted Pb into the air and leaved a large amount of slag, used by neighbors to fill andlevel land. This caused numerous cases of Pb poisoning. Given the health risks and residence times of pollutants, it is necessaryto apply remediation measures such as phytoremediation. For example, the indigenous plant B. pilosa, is a metalophytic plantspecies adapted to the climatic conditions and the soil of the area. The same behavior has been observed with native ArbuscularMycorrhizal Fungi (AMF), which are important to be used as inoculants in remediation programs. Therefore, is important toselect AMF species adapted to these contaminated sites. In the present work, the inoculation of B. pilosa seedlings with nativeAMF spores from Bouwer was evaluated. Seeds of B. pilosa collected in the field were sterilized and rinsed with sterile water. Seedlings were grown in hydroponic cultures enriched with Hoagland solution without phosphate. After 3 weeks, the seedlingswere separated into 2 treatments: 1) added a Hoagland solution plus 1 mM Pb (NO3)2 and 2) added a Hoagland solution plus1 mM NH4NO3. Thus, plants with Pb and without Pb were obtained to continue the experiment. After that, B. pilosa wereinoculated with AMF (300-400 spores) from Bouwer: control site (Pb: 25 μg g-1) and a site with Pb (Pb: 7027 μg g-1). Eachtreatment had five repetitions and the plants were developed under controlled greenhouse conditions for 150 days. After that,the arbuscular mycorrhizal colonization was evaluated by roots staining, observed, and counted under microscope. Arbuscularmycorrhizal fungi structures were observed in B. pilosa roots. Besides, a higher percentage of colonization (30%) wasregistered in plants with Pb and inoculated with AMF from the site with Pb compared to the rest of the treatments. Thispreliminary study show that AMF isolated from contaminated sites potentially increased the arbuscular mycorrhization in B.pilosa seedlings with Pb inside.