TITLE:
Phytoremediation Potential of Sorghum as a Biofuel Crop and the Enhancement Effects with Microbe Inoculation in Heavy Metal Contaminated Soil
AUTHORS:
Kokyo Oh, Tiehua Cao, Hongyan Cheng, Xuanhe Liang, Xuefeng Hu, Lijun Yan, Shinichi Yonemochi, Sachiko Takahi
KEYWORDS:
Sorghum, Phytoremediation, Contaminated Soil, Heavy Metals, Biofuel Plants
JOURNAL NAME:
Journal of Biosciences and Medicines,
Vol.3 No.6,
June
12,
2015
ABSTRACT: Phytoremediation is an
eco-friendly and low-cost biotechnology using plants to extract, contain,
degrade, or immobilize pollutants from the contaminated environment. Selection
of the ideal plant species and suitable enhancing measures to obtain high
remediation efficiency and large valuable biomass are essential requirement for
a successful phytoremdaition. Sorghum (Sorghum bicolor L.) is one of the most
attractive bioenergy crops for producing biofuels with high biomass production.
In this study, the phytoremediation potential of sorghum to heavy metals and
the promotion effects by a lead-tolerant fungus (LTF) were investigated using a
multiple heavy metal contaminated soil with Pb, Ni, and Cu. The results showed
that the sorghum survived the heavy contamination, and LTF inoculation promoted
the plant growth and increased the phytoextraction yields of Pb, Ni, and Cu.
The phytoextraction potential (μg/plant) of the whole sorghum for Sorghum were
410 (Pb), 74 (Ni), and 73 (Cu), and for Sorghum with LTF inoculation were 590
(Pb), 120 (Ni), and 93 (Cu), respectively. The results suggested that sorghum
would be one of the ideal candidates for phytoremediation of contaminated soil
because of its high phytoremediation potential, large biomass production, and
utilization in biofuel production.