Title of Research Project
Major
Biology
Research Abstract
Arabidopsis thaliana, a small flowering plant native to Eurasia and Africa, is known to have the ability to reduce the concentrations of elemental pollutants such as mercury, lead, and cadmium and organic pollutants like benzene, trichloroethylene, and xylene from air and soil. This particular process of pollutant treatment is known as phytoremediation. There have been a number of studies investigating the beneficial effects of mycorrhizal fungi on phytoremediation, but almost all of these studies focused on heavy metal phytoremediation in soil. Despite these promising findings, the effect of plant-fungal symbioses on organic pollutant removal from air has not yet been fully explored . In this study, we are working to test the possible enhancement of Arabidopsis thaliana phytoremediation activity against a common indoor VOC, toluene, by introducing an endophytic fungus, Colletotrichum tofieldiae, to the plant foliar tissues. We developed an experimental design that includes axenic growth of surfaced-sterilized Arabidopsis thaliana seeds in sterile septa jars with phytagel media, injection of toluene gas, and analysis of VOC concentration inside the jars over time via Gas Chromatography/Mass Spectrometry. The second phase of the experiment will include all of the steps above with the introduction of Colletotrichum tofieldiae during the early stages of plant development. Our preliminary findings include determination of the most ideal media composition for Arabidopsis thaliana in this setting. We prepared 4 types of media with 0.2%, 0.8%, 1.2% and 2% Phytagel and half strength Murishige-Skoog essential nutrients, aliquoted each media into petri dishes and planted 2 Arabidopsis thaliana seeds per plate (5 replicates per media, 20 dishes in total). We observed the highest germination and growth rates in 2.0% Phytagel plates—all the seeds germinated with high levels of growth in leaves and stem at this media concentration. Then, we planted Arabidopsis thaliana seeds into sterile septa jars with phytagel media and let the plants develop in the growth chamber with a daily cycle of 22-25°C, a 16:8 photoperiod, and 0% external humidity. We observed germination and growth of the seeds the next week. Unfortunately, we were not able to progress further in our study due to the outbreak of COVID-19. This study would provide data on the effect of fungal inoculation as an enhancement strategy for Arabidopsis thaliana phytoremediation. This could be applied in households to detoxify indoor air from VOCs, thus contributing to improved respiratory health in indoor settings.
Faculty Mentor/Advisor
Naupaka Zimmerman
Included in
Symbiosis Between Arabidopsis thaliana and Colletotrichum tofieldiae for Enhanced Phytoremediation of Indoor Volatile Organic Compounds
Arabidopsis thaliana, a small flowering plant native to Eurasia and Africa, is known to have the ability to reduce the concentrations of elemental pollutants such as mercury, lead, and cadmium and organic pollutants like benzene, trichloroethylene, and xylene from air and soil. This particular process of pollutant treatment is known as phytoremediation. There have been a number of studies investigating the beneficial effects of mycorrhizal fungi on phytoremediation, but almost all of these studies focused on heavy metal phytoremediation in soil. Despite these promising findings, the effect of plant-fungal symbioses on organic pollutant removal from air has not yet been fully explored . In this study, we are working to test the possible enhancement of Arabidopsis thaliana phytoremediation activity against a common indoor VOC, toluene, by introducing an endophytic fungus, Colletotrichum tofieldiae, to the plant foliar tissues. We developed an experimental design that includes axenic growth of surfaced-sterilized Arabidopsis thaliana seeds in sterile septa jars with phytagel media, injection of toluene gas, and analysis of VOC concentration inside the jars over time via Gas Chromatography/Mass Spectrometry. The second phase of the experiment will include all of the steps above with the introduction of Colletotrichum tofieldiae during the early stages of plant development. Our preliminary findings include determination of the most ideal media composition for Arabidopsis thaliana in this setting. We prepared 4 types of media with 0.2%, 0.8%, 1.2% and 2% Phytagel and half strength Murishige-Skoog essential nutrients, aliquoted each media into petri dishes and planted 2 Arabidopsis thaliana seeds per plate (5 replicates per media, 20 dishes in total). We observed the highest germination and growth rates in 2.0% Phytagel plates—all the seeds germinated with high levels of growth in leaves and stem at this media concentration. Then, we planted Arabidopsis thaliana seeds into sterile septa jars with phytagel media and let the plants develop in the growth chamber with a daily cycle of 22-25°C, a 16:8 photoperiod, and 0% external humidity. We observed germination and growth of the seeds the next week. Unfortunately, we were not able to progress further in our study due to the outbreak of COVID-19. This study would provide data on the effect of fungal inoculation as an enhancement strategy for Arabidopsis thaliana phytoremediation. This could be applied in households to detoxify indoor air from VOCs, thus contributing to improved respiratory health in indoor settings.
