Lead, chromium and manganese removal by in vitro root cultures of two aquatic macrophytes species: Typha latifolia L. and Scirpus americanus pers.

The ability of in vitro roots cultures of Typha latifolia and Scirpus americanus to remove metals was studied. Roots were cultivated on Murashige-Skoog medium with 15 microg L(-1) Cr 11, 60 microg L(-1) Pb II or 1.8 mg L(-1) Mn II. Adsorbed metal to root surface was removed by washing with 0.042% HNO3. T. latifolia roots were able to uptake 68.8 microg Pb g(-1), 22.1 microg Cr g(-1) and 1680 microg Mn g(-1), while the S. americanus roots removed 148.3 microg Pb g(-1), 40.7 microg Cr g(-1) and 4037 microg Mn g(-1). About 80-90% of Pb and Cr were absorbed in both cultures. On the contrary, the Mn removal was due mainly to an adsorption process (82-86%). In comparison to the T. latifolia cultures, S. americanus cultures were twofold more efficient to remove Pb and Cr, and threefold more efficient to remove Mn. Both plant species capture metals in the following order: Cr >Pb >Mn. This investigation confirms that in vitro roots cultures could be an alternative as a phytoremediation approach for contaminated water with heavy metals.