Arsenic enhanced plant growth and altered rhizosphere characteristics of hyperaccumulator Pteris vittata.

We investigated the effects of arsenic species on As accumulation, plant growth and rhizospheric changes in As-hyperaccumulator Pteris vittata (PV). PV was grown for 60-d in a soil spiked with 200 mg kg(-1) arsenate (AsV-soil) or arsenite (AsIII-soil). Diffusive gradients in thin-films technique (DGT) were used to monitor As uptake by PV. Interestingly AsIII-soil produced the highest PV biomass at 8.6 g plant(-1), 27% and 46% greater than AsV-soil and the control. Biomass increase was associated with As-induced P uptake by PV. Although AsIII was oxidized to AsV during the experiment, As species impacted As accumulation by PV, with 17.5% more As in AsIII-soil than AsV-soil (36 vs. 31 mg plant(-1)). As concentration in PV roots was 30% higher in AsV-soil whereas As concentration in PV fronds was 7.9% greater in AsIII-soil, suggesting more rapid translocation of AsIII than AsV. These findings were important to understand the mechanisms of As uptake, accumulation and translocation by PV. Published by Elsevier Ltd.