Phytotransformation of Perchlorate and Identification of Metabolic Products in Myriophyllum aquaticum

The uptake and transformation of perchlorate in the presence of Myriophyllum aquaticum (parrot-feather) were examined in sand and aqueous treatments with concentrations between 0.2 to 20 ppm. Controls were included without plants to confirm the uptake of perchlorate by parrot-feather. The kinetic data followed a first-order reaction mechanism with rate constants ranging from 0.004 to 0.090, resulting in half-lives between 7 to 173 days. Uptake rates were five times higher in aqueous treatments than in sand treatments. The intermediates detected in the plant tissue suggest that perchlorate transformed in a step-wise fashion to form chloride. Accumulation of perchlorate in the plant tissues (1.2 g/kg) suggests that parrot-feather has a high capacity for accumulating this contaminant.