Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 8, 2026

Two-Dimensional Visualization and Quantification of Labile, Inorganic Plant Nutrients and Contaminants in Soil
Published on: September 1, 2020
Localization of lead accumulated by corn plants
C Malone1, D E Koeppe, R J Miller
1Department of Agronomy, University of Illinois, Urbana, Illinois 61801.
Abstract:
Light and electron microscopic studies of corn plants (Zea mays L.) exposed to Pb in hydroponic solution showed that the roots generally accumulated a surface Pb precipitate and slowly accumulated Pb crystals in the cell walls. The root surface precipitate formed without the apparent influence of any cell organelles. In contrast, Pb taken up by roots was concentrated in dictyosome vesicles. Dictyosome vesicles containing cell wall material fused with one another to encase the Pb deposit. This encased deposit which was surrounded by a membrane migrated toward the outside of the cell where the membrane surrounding the deposit fused with the plasmalemma. The material surrounding the deposit then fused with the cell wall. The result of this process was a concentration of Pb deposits in the cell wall outside the plasmalemma. Similar deposits were observed in stems and leaves suggesting that Pb was transported and deposited in a similar manner.
Related Concept Videos
Responses to Salt Stress
Extraction: Advanced Methods
Photoreceptors and Plant Responses to Light
Light Acquisition
Water and Mineral Acquisition
Key Elements for Plant Nutrition
