Varying Tolerance to Diesel Toxicity Revealed by Growth Response Evaluation of Petunia grandiflora Shoot Lines Regenerated after Diesel Fuel Treatment

Solomon Peter Wante, David W. M. Leung () and Hossein Alizadeh
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Solomon Peter Wante: Grapevine Improvement Team Bragato Research Institute, Lincoln 7647, New Zealand
David W. M. Leung: School of Biological Sciences, University of Canterbury, Private Bag 4800, Christchurch 8140, New Zealand
Hossein Alizadeh: Department of Agricultural Sciences, Lincoln University, Lincoln 7647, New Zealand

Agriculture, 2024, vol. 14, issue 9, 1-15

Abstract: Continuous efforts are required to find ways to protect crop production against the toxicity of petroleum hydrocarbons, such as diesel, and contamination of soils. There is a need for identification of candidate plants that are tolerant to diesel toxicity that might also have the potential for remediation of diesel-contaminated soils. In this study, petunia, a popular ornamental plant and a model experimental plant in research on phytoremediation of environmental pollutants, was used to evaluate a novel method for rapidly assessing diesel toxicity based on the tolerance of shoots generated through in vitro plant cell culture selection. Petunia shoot lines (L1 to L4) regenerated from diesel-treated callus were compared with those from non-diesel-treated callus (control). Significant morphological differences were observed among the tested lines and control, notably with L1 and L4 showing superior growth. In particular, L4 exhibited remarkable adaptability, with increased root development and microbial counts in a diesel-contaminated potting mix, suggesting that the shoots exhibited enhanced tolerance to diesel exposure. Here, this rapid bioassay has been shown to effectively identify plants with varying levels of tolerance to diesel toxicity and could therefore assist accelerated selection of superior plants for phytoremediation. Further research is needed to understand the genetic and physiological mechanisms underlying tolerance traits, with potential applications beyond petunias to other environmentally significant plants.

Keywords: bioassay; petunia; petroleum hydrocarbons; phytoremediation (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q1 Q10 Q11 Q12 Q13 Q14 Q15 Q16 Q17 Q18 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
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