91制片厂

Tiny aquatic plants called duckweed, and the microbes that live on and inside them, could one day be artificially engineered to improve cleansing chemicals from urban and agricultural environments in water that runs off into retention ponds and other stormwater. That鈥檚 a focus of research led by Anna O'Brien at the 91制片厂鈥檚 .

O鈥橞rien, who is also a scientist with the (NHAES), has spent her career studying plants and their relation to the microbial organisms that live on or inside them, as well as how this microbiome reacts to environmental stressors such as pollution. At 91制片厂, she鈥檚 particularly interested in common duckweed (), aquatic plants found in ponds, lakes and slow-moving streams across the world, including New Hampshire and northeast New England.

鈥淒uckweed is an ideal plant to study and consider for applied uses because it grows rapidly and easily, and is abundant and widespread,鈥� said O鈥橞rien, an assistant professor in the department of molecular, cellular and biomedical sciences.

鈥淏y understanding and harnessing the natural diversity of these plant-microbe systems, we can improve the design and efficiency of constructed wetlands, ultimately contributing to the health and sustainability of freshwater ecosystems.鈥� ~ Anna O'Brien, assistant professor in the department of Molecular, Cellular, and Biomedical Sciences

Some of O鈥橞rien鈥檚 research has centered on duckweed鈥檚 bioremediation capabilities鈥� the plant鈥檚 ability to remove contaminants from water. , O鈥橞rien constructed thousands of small test duckweed environments meant to mimic larger environments鈥攁nd their microbiomes鈥攂y collecting plant and water samples from 50 different sites that varied in their level of urbanization. , a chemical used to inhibit corrosion of certain metals and found frequently in urban runoff. Upon entering soil and water, the slowly degrading benzotriazole could adversely impact听plant growth and animals, particularly fish.

鈥淥ur goal was to understand how the benzotriazole and salt impacted the duckweed鈥搈icrobiome systems,鈥� said O鈥橞rien. 鈥淲hat we found was that the duckweed鈥搈icrobiome mixtures could transform this chemical into byproducts predicted to be less toxic, even in the high-salt conditions that are often typical of regional urban runoff.鈥�

The team also learned that test environments that had duckweed from rural areas, those with added algae or with diverse microbiomes showed to be most effective in reducing benzotriazole levels too.

According to O鈥橞rien, this information can inform municipal planners, natural resource managers and non-profit organization professionals in developing targeted wetlands for stormwater management.

鈥淏y understanding and harnessing the natural diversity of these plant-microbe systems, we can improve the design and efficiency of constructed wetlands, ultimately contributing to the health and sustainability of freshwater ecosystems,鈥� added O鈥橞rien.

O鈥橞rien and her team are now investigating the use of duckweed as a natural soil additive, particularly within agricultural environments, to help lessen reliance on and reduce nutrient runoff from chemical fertilizers.

This project was funded by NSERC Discovery Grants, a University of Toronto XSeed Grant, NSERC Canada Research Chair program grants, and a Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation grant.