Accumulation and phytotoxicity of perfluorooctanoic acid in the model plant species Arabidopsis thaliana

Perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) is widely used in the manufacture of many industrial and household products. To assess the potential environmental risk of PFOA, its accumulation, translocation and phytotoxic effects were investigated using the model plant species Arabidopsis thaliana. Exposure to 18 mu M PFOA-F in agar plates did not affect plant growth, but 181-1811 mu M PFOA-F inhibited root and shoot growth. PFOA was more phytotoxic on shoot growth than NaF at the equivalent F concentration, with the latter having 3.9-7.6 times higher EC50 for shoot biomass than PFOA. PFOA was efficiently translocated from roots to shoots, where it existed as intact PFOA molecules without transformation evidenced by the F-19 NMR spectra. PFOA caused a significant increase in the concentration of H2O2 and malondialdehyde (MDA) in shoots, indicating that oxidative stress is a likely cause of PFOA phytotoxicity. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.