A team of researchers from the University of Montreal and the Montreal Botanical Garden have discovered a new chemical in the roots of white lupin that can be used to detoxify soil, including those contaminated by mining operations.
Sites contaminated by mining-related activities have been identified as ‘highly concerning’ by the Canadian Government, with over 7,000 sites in the country being marked as contaminated by metals such as arsenic. Some facilities have soil arsenic levels that have been elevated by as much as 1000 times the maximum regulatory health limits.
“The legume crop white lupin is one such arsenic tolerant plant species being studied for sustainable remediation,” says Adrien Frémont, lead author of the study. “The mechanism behind arsenic tolerance in white lupin is thought to be the release of plant chemicals directly into soil by roots, but the nature of these compounds is unknown and hard to study due to the complexity of these belowground interactions.”
Dr. Nicholas Brereton, senior author of the study commented: “Although we’re still only just beginning to scratch below the surface of how these plant root strategies work, as we learn more, we can potentially utilise these natural processes to improve soil health and help to alleviate some of the most persistent anthropogenic damage to our environment.”
In the team’s study, they placed nylon pouches near roots in soil to capture molecules leached into the earth.
Soil health is crucial to ensuring plant growth and survival, and is particularly important when considering land is becoming an increasingly valuable commodity as food demand rises. With research like the team at Montreal’s, more soil can be made suitable for crop production without posing risks to human and environmental health.
The research was supported by funding from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada, MITACS, Hydro-Québec and Natural Resources Canada Forest Innovation Program.
