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Nickel distribution in the hyperaccumulator Alyssum serpyllifolium Desf. spp. from the Iberian Peninsula |
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| Authors: | V de la Fuente N Rodríguez B Díez-Garretas L Rufo A Asensi R Amils |
| Institution: | 1. Departamento de Biología , Universidad Autónoma , Madrid, Spain vicenta.fuente@uam.es;3. Centro de Astrobiología (INTA-CSIC) , Torrejón de Ardoz, Madrid, Spain;4. Departmento de Biología Vegetal , Universidad de Málaga , Málaga, Spain;5. Departamento de Biología , Universidad Autónoma , Madrid, Spain;6. Centro de Astrobiología (INTA-CSIC) , Torrejón de Ardoz, Madrid, Spain;7. Centro de Biología Molecular (UAM-CSIC), Universidad Autónoma de Madrid , Madrid, Spain |
| Abstract: | Abstract The relative concentration and distribution of nickel (Ni) in vegetative tissues (leaves, stems and trichomes) and reproductive organs (seeds) was studied using energy-dispersive X-ray microanalysis (EDXS) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) in two previously studied Ni-hyperaccumulator subspecies of Alyssum serpyllifolium Desf. growing naturally in ultramafic soils of the Iberian Peninsula: A. serpyllifolium ssp. lusitanicum Dudley & P. Silva and A. serpyllifolium ssp. malacitanum Rivas Goday ex G. López. Both taxa showed that Ni accumulates preferentially in the leaves, exhibiting a homogeneous distribution on both epidermis surfaces. The highest Ni concentrations were found inside the epidermal cells and at the base of trichome stalks. Ni accumulation in seeds was lower than in the vegetative organs. The location of Ni in these plants allows us to postulate that its accumulation is a protection mechanism against external stress. |
| Keywords: | Alyssum serpyllifolium EDXS elemental mapping hyperaccumulation Iberian Peninsula nickel |