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Phytotoxicity of landfill leachate to Arabidopsis thaliana
Received:January 25, 2016  
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KeyWord:landfill leachate;Arabidopsis thaliana;comprehensive toxicity;oxidative damage
Author NameAffiliation
LI Guang-ke College of Environmental Science and Resources, Shanxi University, Taiyuan 030006, China 
CHEN Jun-yan College of Environmental Science and Resources, Shanxi University, Taiyuan 030006, China 
FU Xiao-juan College of Environmental Science and Resources, Shanxi University, Taiyuan 030006, China 
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Abstract:
      Landfill leachate can cause significant threats to the surrounding soil, surface water and groundwater. In the present research, the toxicity of landfill leachate to Arabidopsis thaliana was examined by detecting its growth and development during early, maturity and late stages. Our results showed that landfill leachate influenced the growth of Arabidopsis thaliana during the whole life cycle. Low concentrations of leachate(0.1%) and short time exposure(24 h) promoted the germination rates and root growth, which was 256% and 324% of the control, respectively; while high concentrations(10%) and long time exposure(≥48 h) showed inhibitory effects, with germination rates and root growth being 67% and 36% of control, respectively. However, shoot length showed a significant difference only under 48 h exposure, indicating that root length was more sensitive to leachate than shoot length. The landfill leachate also affected the growth of Arabidopsis thaliana during maturity stage, by inducing oxidative damages in concentration-effect and time-effect manners, and by further damaging the antioxidant defense system. In addition, high concentrations(20%) of leachate significantly inhibited the reproduction of Arabidopsis thaliana during late stage(P<0.01). The bolting rate and pod number decreased to 45% and 43% of control after 15-day leachate exposure, respectively. These results suggest that Arabidopsis thaliana is an efficient, simple and reproducible biomarker in monitoring the toxicity of landfill leachate.