The photosynthetic apparatus ofConocarpus lancifoliusEngl. (Combretaceae) suffers damage in soil contaminated with heavy metals

Botany ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 97 (3) ◽  
pp. 179-189
Author(s):  
Amina Redha ◽  
Redah Al-Hasan ◽  
Jacquilion Jose ◽  
Divya Saju ◽  
Mohammad Afzal

Conocarpus lancifolius Engl. (Combretaceae), a heat tolerant plant, has potential for use in the phytoremediation of polluted soil. We analyzed the physiological changes in C. lancifolius exposed to single and mixed heavy metals (HMs; cadmium, nickel, and lead). For 30 days under controlled growth conditions, we exposed some groups of plants to a single HM at concentrations of 25 or 50 μmol·L–1and other groups were exposed to 25 μmol·L–1of a mixture of HMs. Photosynthetic parameters such as electron transport rate, photosynthetic rate, chlorophyll fluorescence, chlorophyll content index, and photosynthetic pigments were measured. Chloroplast morphology was studied by transmission electron microscopy (TEM). In plants exposed to 25 μmol·L–1of HMs, the photosynthetic parameters were unaffected, whereas at 50 μmol·L–1of HMs, all parameters significantly decreased up to 20 days of exposure, followed by an increase up to 30 days, indicating a slow adaptation of plants to HM under stress. Compared with the single HMs, mixtures of HMs were more toxic at the same concentration. All parameters indicated damage to the photosynthetic apparatus due to stress from 25 μmol·L–1of the HM mixtures and 50 μmol·L–1of the single HMs. TEM analyses showed a dispersion of grana in the chloroplast of the affected C. lancifolius plants.

2018 ◽  
Vol 28 (1) ◽  
pp. 130-145 ◽  
Author(s):  
Szymon Rusinowski ◽  
Jacek Krzyżak ◽  
Marta Pogrzeba

Abstract Contaminated and marginal lands are favourable place for biomass feedstock establishment, especially due to European Union directive 2009/28/EC. This strategy not only cover local demand for energy and heat but also can be valuable in those land phytomanagment. The second-generation perennial energy crop species are the most feasible for such purpose. We studied the impact of two different fertilizer treatments on plant physiological parameters associated with photosynthesis, heavy metals (HMs) and primary macronutrients accumulation in Sida hermaphrodita cultivated on HMs contaminated soil under field conditions. NPK fertilized plants showed the highest values of photosynthetic parameters at the beginning of growing season when compared to control and microbial inoculated plants. However, at the end of the growing season inoculated and control plants showed better photosynthetic performance than NPK treated. NPK fertilizer caused higher Cd and Zn shoot concentrations while microbial inoculation caused higher K and the lowest N and P concentrations in shoot. Due to Cd, Pb and Zn concentrations in plants which should not result in alleviation of photosynthetic apparatus efficiency and biomass production it could be summarize that Sida hermaphrodita is a suitable plant for cultivation on land contaminated with HMs under different fertilization regimes.


Author(s):  
K.M. Hones ◽  
P. Sheldon ◽  
B.G. Yacobi ◽  
A. Mason

There is increasing interest in growing epitaxial GaAs on Si substrates. Such a device structure would allow low-cost substrates to be used for high-efficiency cascade- junction solar cells. However, high-defect densities may result from the large lattice mismatch (∼4%) between the GaAs epilayer and the silicon substrate. These defects can act as nonradiative recombination centers that can degrade the optical and electrical properties of the epitaxially grown GaAs. For this reason, it is important to optimize epilayer growth conditions in order to minimize resulting dislocation densities. The purpose of this paper is to provide an indication of the quality of the epitaxially grown GaAs layers by using transmission electron microscopy (TEM) to examine dislocation type and density as a function of various growth conditions. In this study an intermediate Ge layer was used to avoid nucleation difficulties observed for GaAs growth directly on Si substrates. GaAs/Ge epilayers were grown by molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) on Si substrates in a manner similar to that described previously.


Author(s):  
R H Dixon ◽  
P Kidd ◽  
P J Goodhew

Thick relaxed InGaAs layers grown epitaxially on GaAs are potentially useful substrates for growing high indium percentage strained layers. It is important that these relaxed layers are defect free and have a good surface morphology for the subsequent growth of device structures.3μm relaxed layers of InxGa1-xAs were grown on semi - insulating GaAs substrates by Molecular Beam Epitaxy (MBE), where the indium composition ranged from x=0.1 to 1.0. The interface, bulk and surface of the layers have been examined in planar view and cross-section by Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM). The surface morphologies have been characterised by Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), and the bulk lattice perfection of the layers assessed using Double Crystal X-ray Diffraction (DCXRD).The surface morphology has been found to correlate with the growth conditions, with the type of defects grown-in to the layer (e.g. stacking faults, microtwins), and with the nature and density of dislocations in the interface.


1989 ◽  
Vol 160 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. L. Lin ◽  
C. W. Nieh

AbstractEpitaxial IrSi3 films have been grown on Si (111) by molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) at temperatures ranging from 630 to 800 °C and by solid phase epitaxy (SPE) at 500 °C. Good surface morphology was observed for IrSi3 layers grown by MBE at temperatures below 680 °C, and an increasing tendency to form islands is noted in samples grown at higher temperatures. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) analysis reveals that the IrSi3 layers grow epitaxially on Si(111) with three epitaxial modes depending on the growth conditions. For IrSi3 layers grown by MBE at 630 °C, two epitaxial modes were observed with ~ 50% area coverage for each mode. Single mode epitaxial growth was achieved at a higher MBE growth temperature, but with island formation in the IrSi3 layer. A template technique was used with MBE to improve the IrSi3 surface morphology at higher growth temperatures. Furthermore, single-crystal IrSi3 was grown on Si(111) at 500 °C by SPE, with annealing performed in-situ in a TEM chamber.


Plants ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 155
Author(s):  
Anastasia Giannakoula ◽  
Ioannis Therios ◽  
Christos Chatzissavvidis

Photosynthetic changes and antioxidant activity to oxidative stress were evaluated in sour orange (Citrus aurantium L.) leaves subjected to lead (Pb), copper (Cu) and also Pb + Cu toxicity treatments, in order to elucidate the mechanisms involved in heavy metal tolerance. The simultaneous effect of Pb− and Cu on growth, concentration of malondialdehyde (MDA), hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), chlorophylls, flavonoids, carotenoids, phenolics, chlorophyll fluorescence and photosynthetic parameters were examined in leaves of Citrus aurantium L. plants. Exogenous application of Pb and Cu resulted in an increase in leaf H2O2 and lipid peroxidation (MDA). Toxicity symptoms of both Pb and Cu treated plants were stunted growth and decreased pigments concentration. Furthermore, photosynthetic activity of treated plants exhibited a significant decline. The inhibition of growth in Pb and Cu-treated plants was accompanied by oxidative stress, as indicated by the enhanced lipid peroxidation and the high H2O2 concentration. Furthermore, antioxidants in citrus plants after exposure to high Pb and Cu concentrations were significantly increased compared to control and low Pb and Cu treatments. In conclusion, this study indicates that Pb and Cu promote lipid peroxidation, disrupt membrane integrity, reduces growth and photosynthesis and inhibit mineral nutrition. Considering the potential for adverse human health effects associated with high concentrations of Pb and Cu contained in edible parts of citrus plants the study signals that it is important to conduct further research into the accessibility and uptake of the tested heavy metals in the soil and whether they pose risks to humans.


1995 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 843-852 ◽  
Author(s):  
N. Guelton ◽  
R.G. Saint-Jacques ◽  
G. Lalande ◽  
J-P. Dodelet

GaAs layers grown by close-spaced vapor transport on (100) Ge substrates have been investigated as a function of the experimental growth conditions. The effects on the microstructure of the surface preparation, substrate misorientation, and annealing were studied using optical microscopy and transmission electron microscopy. Microtwins and threading dislocations are suppressed by oxide desorption before deposition. Single domain GaAs layers have been obtained using a 50 nm thick double domain buffer layer on an annealed Ge substrate misoriented 3°toward [011]. The mismatch strain is mainly accommodated by dissociated 60°dislocations. These misfit dislocations extend along the interface by the glide of the threading dislocations inherited from the substrate, but strong interaction with antiphase boundaries (APB's) prevents them from reaching the interface. These results are discussed and compared with previous reports of GaAs growth on Ge(100).


2002 ◽  
Vol 737 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. Sarangi ◽  
A. Karimi

ABSTRACTCarbon nanotubes on metallic wires may be act as electrode for the field emission (FE) luminescent devices. Growing nanotubes on metallic wires with controlled density, length and alignment are challenging issues for this kind of devices. We, in the present investigation grow carbon nanotubes directly on the metal wires by a powerful but simple technique. A novel approach has been proposed to align nanotubes during growth. Methane, acetylene and dimethylamine have been used as source gases. With the same growth conditions (viz. pressure, growth temperature and plasma) methane does not produce any nanotube but nanotubes grown with dimethylamine show shorter length and radius than acetylene. The effect of temperature to control the radius, time to control the density, plasma conditions to align the nanotubes has been focused. Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) and Rutherford Back Scattering (RBS) are used to characterize the nanotubes.


1993 ◽  
Vol 312 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard Mirin ◽  
Mohan Krishnamurthy ◽  
James Ibbetson ◽  
Arthur Gossard ◽  
John English ◽  
...  

AbstractHigh temperature (≥ 650°C) MBE growth of AlAs and AlAs/GaAs superlattices on (100) GaAs is shown to lead to quasi-periodic facetting. We demonstrate that the facetting is only due to the AlAs layers, and growth of GaAs on top of the facets replanarizes the surface. We show that the roughness between the AlAs and GaAs layers increases with increasing number of periods in the superlattice. The roughness increases to form distinct facets, which rapidly grow at the expense of the (100) surface. Within a few periods of the initial facet formation, the (100) surface has disappeared and only the facet planes are visible in cross-sectional transmission electron micrographs. At this point, the reflection high-energy electron diffraction pattern is spotty, and the specular spot is a distinct chevron. We also show that the facetting becomes more pronounced as the substrate temperature is increased from 620°C to 710°C. Atomic force micrographs show that the valleys enclosed by the facets can be several microns long, but they may also be only several nanometers long, depending on the growth conditions.


1992 ◽  
Vol 281 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. J. Arent ◽  
K. A. Bertness ◽  
Sarah R. Kurtz ◽  
M. Bode ◽  
J. M. Olson

ABSTRACTA reduction in the optical energy gap of more than 65 meV has been observed in In0.53Ga0.47 As grown on (100) InP by atmospheric pressure metalorganic vapor phase epitaxy. The band gap energies were deduced from room temperature photocurrent spectroscopic measurements, accounting for differences in composition and strain. Spontaneous CuPt type ordering of In and Ga atoms on the (111) subplanes of the InGaAs2 was confirmed by transmission electron microscopy. Superlattice signatures in the transmission micrographs were observed only for samples with associated reduced band gap energies, and were confirmed by visible double periodicity in high resolution images. In0.53Ga0.47 As was grown under a variety of conditions, some which promoted ordering. In general, lower growth temperatures and moderate (∼4 μ/hr) growth rates promoted a greater degree of ordering and reduction of the band gap energy. The influence of growth conditions on the ordered structure is considered within the context of current theories.


2020 ◽  
Vol 21 (6) ◽  
pp. 2099 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eugeniusz Małkowski ◽  
Krzysztof Sitko ◽  
Michał Szopiński ◽  
Żaneta Gieroń ◽  
Marta Pogrzeba ◽  
...  

Hormesis, which describes the stimulatory effect of low doses of toxic substances on growth, is a well-known phenomenon in the plant and animal kingdoms. However, the mechanisms that are involved in this phenomenon are still poorly understood. We performed preliminary studies on corn coleoptile sections, which showed a positive correlation between the stimulation of growth by Cd or Pb and an increase in the auxin and H2O2 content in the coleoptile sections. Subsequently, we grew corn seedlings in hydroponic culture and tested a wide range of Cd or Pb concentrations in order to determine hormetic growth stimulation. In these seedlings the gas exchange and the chlorophyll a fluorescence, as well as the content of chlorophyll, flavonol, auxin and hydrogen peroxide, were measured. We found that during the hormetic stimulation of growth, the response of the photosynthetic apparatus to Cd and Pb differed significantly. While the application of Cd mostly caused a decrease in various photosynthetic parameters, the application of Pb stimulated some of them. Nevertheless, we discovered that the common features of the hormetic stimulation of shoot growth by heavy metals are an increase in the auxin and flavonol content and the maintenance of hydrogen peroxide at the same level as the control plants.


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