8 research outputs found
Evaluation of micro-energy dispersive X-ray fluorescence and histochemical tests for aluminium detection in plants from High Altitude Rocky Complexes, Southeast Brazil
Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy as a Powerful Tool for Distinguishing High- and Low-Vigor Soybean Seed Lots
Seasonal Activity and Foraging Preferences of the Leaf-Cutting Ant Atta sexdens piriventris (Santschi) (Hymenoptera: Formicidae)
Impact of heavy metals on physiological health of lichens growing in differently polluted areas of central Assam, North East India
Tools for the discovery of hyperaccumulator plant species and understanding their ecophysiology
Globally the discovery of hyperaccumulator plants has been hindered by systematic screening of plant species, and is highly biased towards Ni hyperaccumulators. This is mainly due to the existence of a reagent paper test that is only specific to nickel (based on dimethylglyoxime) such that more than 400 of the approximately 500 known hyperaccumulators species are for Ni. New technical advances now permit massive screening of herbarium specimens using non-destructive, portable X-Ray Fluorescence Spectroscopy (XRF), an approach that has already led to the discovery of numerous hyperaccumulator species new to science. The elemental distribution in selected hyperaccumulator plant tissues can then be further studied using techniques such as desktop or synchrotron micro-XRF, nuclear microprobe (PIXE), scanning/transmission electron microscopy with energy-dispersive spectroscopy (SEM/TEM-EDS), secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS) or laser ablation inductively-coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS). The use of histochemical dyes combined with light microscopy further aids in the identification of anatomical and structural features of the studied plant tissues