The wastewater at Sukinda chromite mines (SCM) area of Orissa (India) showed high levels of toxic hexavalent chromium (Cr VI). Wastewater from chromium-contaminated mines exhibit potential threats for biotic community in the vicinity. The aim of the present investigation is to develop a suitable phytoremediation technology for the effective removal of toxic hexavalent chromium from mines wastew...

Some plants secrete toxic nectar to appeal to most effective pollinators and deter non-pollinators or nectar thieves; however available information about ecological function of toxic nectar remains scarce. Elsholtzia rugulosa stands out as a plant with toxic nectar recorded in SW China. We focused on the functional significance of the phenolic compound that imparts toxic to the nectar of E. rug...

Contamination with 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene (TNT) is widespread at sites of past munitions manufacture. It is moderately toxic to plants and highly toxic to some animals. Some aquatic plant species have been observed to promote degradation of TNT. The degradative activity is associated with the root systems but products are found in the surrounding medium. We have examined a range of sixteen gener...

Some Indigofera species contain a toxic non-protein amino acid known as indospicine. Indospicine-containing plants are toxic to livestock, and cases of secondary poisoning have been documented in dogs that consume indospicine-containing meat. For the analysis of indospicine in the plant material, a method was developed based on liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) of the ph...

During the summer of 1997, sediment core samples were taken at 25 stations in Santa Monica Bay. Toxicity testing was performed on 4-cm sections of the entire length of each core using purple sea urchin fertilization and amphipod survival tests. The sea urchin test identified sections as being toxic at six stations, all located near current or former Hyperion Treatment Plant (HTP) wastewater out...

Filtrates from nematode-parasitic fungi have been reported to be toxic to plant-parasitic nematodes. Our objective was to determine the effects of fungal filtrates on second-stage juveniles and eggs of Heterodera glycines. Eleven fungal species that were isolated from cysts extracted from a soybean field in Florida were tested on J2, and five species were tested on eggs in vitro. Each fungal sp...

A major goal of phytoremediation is to transform fast-growing plants with genes from plant species that hyperaccumulate toxic trace elements. We overexpressed the gene encoding selenocysteine methyltransferase (SMT) from the selenium (Se) hyperaccumulator Astragalus bisulcatus in Arabidopsis and Indian mustard (Brassica juncea). SMT detoxifies selenocysteine by methylating it to methylselenocys...

The term bioremediation has been introduced to describe the process of using biological agents to remove toxic waste from environment. Bioremediation is the most effective management tool to manage the polluted environment and recover contaminated soil. The hazardous wastes generated from the chemical processes/operations are being treated using physico-chemical and biological methods by the re...

-The distribution of toxic heavy metals was studied throughout the process of treatment of domestic wastewater by stabilization ponds. The concentrations and distribution of free and bound zinc, cadmium, lead and copper through the various stages of a treatment plant were analyzed by Anodic Stripping Voltammetry (ASV). Only a slight decrease in the total metals concentration was observed during...