Effects of Zn-complexes on zinc uptake by wheat (Triticum aestivum) roots: a comprehensive consideration of physical, chemical and biological processes on biouptake

Commonly used equilibrium models for metal biouptake, such as the Free Ion Activity Model (FIAM) and the Biotic Ligand Model (BLM), are limited to the cases in which mass diffusive transport is not the flux-determining step. In analyses of metal biouptake from a complexing medium, all the physical (diffusion), chemical (dissociation kinetics of metal complexes), and biological (transport and internalization) processes have to be taken into account. A short-term zinc uptake by wheat (Triticum aestivum) roots from culture solutions in the absence or presence of synthetic ligands (NTA, nitrilotriacetic acid, and EDTA, ethylenediaminetetraacetate) was studied. At the same free Zn²⁺ concentration [graphic removed] , the uptake of Zn was significantly enhanced in the presence of ligands and was larger when Zn complexes have a quicker dissociation rate. The diffusional fluxes in the same culture solution were determined with the differential pulse anodic stripping voltammetry (DPASV) method, and the diffusive gels in thin film (DGT) technique. The contribution from Zn complexes to root Zn uptake was in better agreement with the degree of Zn complex labilities measured with DPASV than with DGT. The diffusion of free Zn²⁺ ion to the root surface is a rate-controlling step for Zinc biouptake when the free Zn²⁺ concentration is low. Based on the comprehensive consideration of the diffusion and dissociation processes of Zn²⁺ ion and Zn complexes and the existence of high- and low-affinity uptake systems in the root surface, a two-pathway Zn uptake model was developed to predict the resulting Zn uptake fluxes into roots in the overall range of exposure.