Multispecies methods of testing for toxicity: Use of the Rhizobium-legume symbiosis in nitrogen fixation and correlations between responses by algae and terrestrial plants

Conference · Sun Jan 01 04:00:00 EST 1989

OSTI ID:6346565

Garten, Jr, C T

Responses of the Rhizobium-legume symbiotic relationship to long-term (5- to 7-week) and short-term (2-week) exposures of copper sulfate, 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid, and streptomycin sulfate were examined in bush beans and clover. Toxic effects were evaluated by comparing plant biomass (yield), nodulation success, nitrogen fixation rate as indicated by acetylene reduction, and plant nitrogen content in controls and in plants exposed to various concentrations of the chemicals. Plants with long-term continuous root exposure were affected more than plants with short-term exposure, as indicated by reductions in nitrogen fixation rates and plant growth. Although rates of acetylene reduction (nitrogen fixation) were depressed, plants biomass and the numbers of root nodules produced were simpler, less expensive indices of exposure. In a second test, the responses of algae (Selenastrum capricornutum and Chlorella vulgaris) and terrestrial plants (radishes, barley, bush beans, and soybeans) to 21 different herbicides were compared to evaluate the use of a short-term (96-h) algal growth inhibition test for identifying chemicals potentially toxic to terrestrial plants.

• Research Organization: Oak Ridge National Lab., TN (USA)
• DOE Contract Number: AC05-84OR21400
• OSTI ID: 6346565
• Report Number(s): CONF-8904192-1; ON: DE89009110
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

09 BIOMASS FUELS
140504* -- Solar Energy Conversion-- Biomass Production & Conversion-- (-1989)
ACETYLENE
ALGAE
ALKYNES
ANTI-INFECTIVE AGENTS
ANTIBIOTICS
BACTERIA
CHEMICAL REACTIONS
COPPER COMPOUNDS
COPPER SULFATES
DRUGS
ECOSYSTEMS
HYDROCARBONS
MICROORGANISMS
MONITORING
NITROGEN FIXATION
ORGANIC COMPOUNDS
OXYGEN COMPOUNDS
PLANTS
REDUCTION
RHIZOBIUM
SULFATES
SULFUR COMPOUNDS
SYMBIOSIS
TERRESTRIAL ECOSYSTEMS
TOXICITY
TRANSITION ELEMENT COMPOUNDS