Effects of mining pollution on the ultrastructure of Lessonia sp

LEONARDI, PATRICIA INES; JULIO VÁSQUEZ,; ALICIA MIRAVALLES

HYDROBIOLOGIA

Año: 1999 vol. 398/ p. 375 - 383

0018-8158

Plants of Lessonia trabeculata and L. nigrescens were studied by transmission electron microscopy in order toevaluate ultrastructural level changes in response to copper exposure. Samples of fronds, stipes, and holdfasts werecollected from areas with and without copper mining discharges. Changes in cell ultrastructure observed in Lessoniatrabeculata were related to copper concentrations in seawater, seaweeds and extracted alginates. The resultsstrongly suggest that tolerance or adaptation of Lessonia to high concentrations of copper is the capacity of differentplant tissues to accumulate copper as precipitates, primarily at two levels: the cell wall and periplasmalemmalspace, with the vacuolar system being a third site.