Dataset of phytoremediation ability and growth of mycorrhizal fungi-assisted tomatoes in Pb-Cd-contaminated soil using x-ray fluorescence spectrometry, light microscopy and observation

Abstract

In this research, arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (“AMF”) was introduced to Early Girl tomato plants grown in soil exposed to lead (Pb) and cadmium (Cd), common soil contaminants with detrimental developmental and neurological effects. After a two month growing period, vinegar-and-ink staining and light microscopy of roots was used to visualize structural characteristics of AMF (e.g. vesicles, hyphae, and arbuscules) and lead sequestration (e.g. complexes attached to the cell wall). Dry mass and height difference over time of individual plants was measured in order to document the effect of Pb-Cd and arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi on tomato growth, both paired and unpaired. X-ray fluorescence spectrometry was utilized to measure concentrations (ppm) of Pb and Cd within two samples from each group’s root, stem, and flower systems in order to quantify plant bioaccumulation and subsequently analyze phytoremediation efficacy