Nitrate facilitates cadmium uptake, transport and accumulation in the hyperaccumulator

Hu, P.*; Yin, Y.-G.; Ishikawa, Satoru*; Suzui, Nobuo; Kawachi, Naoki; Fujimaki, Shu; Igura, Masato*; Yuan, C.*; Huang, J.*; Li, Z.*; Makino, Tomoyuki*; Luo, Y.*; Christie, P.*; Wu, L.*

, a species in the family Crassulaceae, has been reported to be a Cd hyperaccumulator exhibiting fast growth, large biomass, asexual reproduction and perennial habit and showing remarkable potential in the phytoextraction of Cd from polluted soils. The aims of this study are to investigate whether and how the nitrogen form (nitrate (NO) versus ammonium (NH)) influences cadmium (Cd) uptake and translocation and subsequent Cd phytoextraction by the . This is the first report of successful visualisation and quantification of Cd uptake and root-to-shoot translocation in intact plants of the hyperaccumulator species supplied with different forms of inorganic N using positron-emitting tracer imaging system (PETIS), a real-time imaging method.