Intraspecific Variability of Metal Tolerance in Taraxacum officinale Wigg. s.l. Seed Progeny: Analysis Based on Dose–Response Relationship

Abstract—: Based on the analysis of dose–response relationships under exposure to a wide range of copper sulfate concentrations, the metal tolerance of seed progeny was assessed using the root elongation test in two morphological forms of Taraxacum officinale Wigg. s.l. growing in background and technogenically transformed areas (industrial waste dumps). Since previous studies in the same areas showed that these forms differed in their abundance and ratio in the coenopopulations and in the level of copper accumulation, it was assumed that they would also differ in the metal tolerance of seed progeny. It was found that the average values of effective copper sulfate concentrations inhibiting root growth in seedlings by 10, 50, and 90%, did not differ between the study areas and between the morphological forms of dandelion. © 2019, Pleiades Publishing, Ltd.The work was performed under state assignment for the Institute of Plant and Animal Ecology, Ural Branch, Russian Academy of Sciences and supported by the Integrated Research Program of the Ural Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences (project no. 18-4-4-9)