Cd hyperaccumulative characteristics of Australia ecotype Solanum nigrum L. and its implication in screening hyperaccumulator.

A pot culture experiment was used to determine the differences in uptake characteristics of a cadmium hyperaccumulator Solanum nigrum L. discovered in China, an ecotype from Melbourne, Australia and a non-hyperaccumulator Solanum melogena Australian ecotype was not significantly different to the China ecotype. In particular, Cd concentration in leaves and shoots of S. nigrum collected from Australia were 166.0 and 146.3 mg kg(-1) respectively when 20 mg kg(-1) Cd spiked, and were not significantly different to the ecotype imported from China which had 109.8 and 85.3 mg kg(-1) respectively, in the stems and leaves. In contrast, the tolerance of the eggplant to Cd was significantly less than the two S. nigrum ecotypes. Although some morphological properties of S. nigrum collected from Australia were different from that of the plants collected from China, Cd hyperaccumulator characteristics of two ecotypes were similar. The results suggested that the tolerance and uptake of Cd may be a constitutive trait of this species.