Plant-minerals-water interactions: An investigation on Juncus acutus exposed to different Zn sources

Juncus acutus has been proposed as a suitable species for the design of phytoremediation plans. This research aimed to investigate the role played by rhizosphere minerals and water composition on Zn transformations and dynamics in the rhizosphere-plant system of J. acutus exposed to different Zn sources. Rhizobox experiments were conducted using three different growing substrates (Zn from 137 to 20,400 mg/kg), and two irrigation lines (Zn 0.05 and 180 mg/l). The plant growth was affected by the substrate type, whereas the Zn content in the water did not significantly influence the plant height for a specific substrate. J. acutus accumulated Zn mainly in roots (up to 10,000 mg/kg dw); the metal supply by the water led to variable increases in the total Zn concentration in the vegetal organs, and different Zn dis-tributions both controlled by the rhizosphere mineral composition. Different Zn complexation mechanisms were ob-served, mainly driven by cysteine and citrate compounds, whose amount increased linearly with Zn content in water, but differently for each of the investigated systems.Our study contributes to gain a more complete picture of the Zn pathway in the rhizosphere-plant system of J. acutus. We demonstrated that this vegetal species is not only capable of developing site-specific tolerance mechanisms, but it is also capable to differently modulate Zn transformation when Zn is additionally supplied by watering. These findings are necessary for predicting the fate of Zn during phytoremediation of sites characterized by specific mineralogical properties and subject to water chemical variations.

Automated summary

Juncus acutus is suitable for phytoremediation plans. This study investigated the effect of rhizosphere minerals and water composition on Zn transformations in J. acutus. The plant growth was influenced by the substrate type, while the Zn content in the water did not significantly affect the plant height. J. acutus accumulated Zn in roots and the distribution of Zn was controlled by the rhizosphere mineral composition. The findings contribute to a better understanding of Zn dynamics in the rhizosphere-plant system.