Related Experiment Video
Updated: Nov 8, 2025

Integrated Field Lysimetry and Porewater Sampling for Evaluation of Chemical Mobility in Soils and Established Vegetation
Published on: July 4, 2014
Mechanisms of arsenate tolerance in Cytisus striatus
Petra M Bleeker1, Henk Schat1, Riet Vooijs1
1Department of Ecology and Physiology of Plants, Faculty of Earth and Life Sciences, Vrije Universiteit, De Boelelaan 1085, 1081 HV Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
Abstract:
• Arsenate tolerance, uptake and arsenate-induced phytochelatin (PC) accumulation were compared at different phosphorus supply rates in two populations of the broom, Cytisus striatus , one from an arsenic-enriched gold mine and one from a nonmetalliferous site. • After 7 d of exposure, arsenate tolerance was higher in the mine population. Arsenate uptake was phosphate-suppressible, and much lower in the mine plants. When compared at equal levels of stress, the mine plants and the nonmetallicolous plants exhibited similar arsenic accumulation, suggesting that reduced arsenate uptake is mainly responsible for superior tolerance. • Arsenate-induced PC accumulation occurred in both plant types. The γ-glutamylcysteine synthetase inhibitor, L-buthioninesulfoximine, caused arsenate hypersensitivity in both plant types, suggesting that PC-based arsenic sequestration is essential for both normal and enhanced arsenate tolerance. Mine plants produced longer PCs than the nonmetallicolous plants, possibly due to a differential temporal pattern of arsenate accumulation. • Our results are consistent with a similar mechanism underlying arsenate hypertolerance in C. striatus and grasses, that is reduced arsenate uptake through suppression of phosphate transporter activity.
Related Concept Videos
Responses to Salt Stress
Sulfur Assimilation
Anticholinesterase Agents: Poisoning and Treatment
Irreversible agents form a strong bond with the cholinesterase enzyme, making it inactive. The breakdown of the phosphorylated enzyme is...
Adaptations that Reduce Water Loss
Allosteric Proteins-ATCase
Aspartate transcarbamoylase (ATCase) is a cytosolic enzyme that catalyzes the condensation of L-aspartate and carbamoyl phosphate to N-carbamoyl-L-aspartate. This reaction is the first step in pyrimidine biosynthesis. UTP and CTP, the end products of the pyrimidine synthesis...
C4 Pathway and CAM
C4 Pathway
The C4 pathway is used by plants such as...

