Phytoremediation of Heavy Metal-Contaminated Soil Using Drought-Adapted Sweet Sorghum (Sorghum bicolor L.) in Arid Regions of Kazakhstan
Sagimbayeva A.M. Tomlekova N.B. Saparov G.A. Abduraimov Y.O. Kerimbayev A.A. Nurabayev S.S. Assanzhanova N.N. Akmyrzayev N.Z. Iskakova K.M. Omarova A.S. Anapiyayev B.B.
December 2025Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute (MDPI)
Plants
2025#14Issue 23
Soil contamination with heavy metals is a persistent challenge in the arid regions of Kazakhstan. This study evaluates the phytoremediation potential of sweet sorghum (Sorghum bicolor L.), a drought-tolerant crop with a well-developed root system, using a combination of in vitro and analytical approaches. In vitro culture of somatic cells revealed clear genotype-dependent differences in callus induction and morphogenesis, with Hybrid-2 and SAB-3 exhibiting the highest regenerative capacity and thus the greatest suitability for further biotechnological improvement and stress-tolerance selection. Analysis of metal distribution, based on atomic absorption spectroscopy (AAS), demonstrated that S. bicolor predominantly retained Pb, Cd, and Co in the root system. Cobalt accumulated to 12.7 ± 1.32 mg/kg under 1 MAC and 16.87 ± 2.78 mg/kg under 2 MAC, accounting for more than half of the metal absorbed by plants. Cadmium showed a similar root-dominant pattern, whereas lead exhibited the lowest mobility and remained almost entirely sequestered in roots, with translocation factors consistently below unity (TF < 1). Overall, these findings confirm the suitability of sweet sorghum as an environmentally sustainable species for the phytostabilization of Pb-, Cd-, and Co-contaminated soils in arid environments and highlight the value of genotype pre-selection under stress conditions for optimizing phytoremediation performance.
heavy metals , phytoextraction , phytoremediation , phytostabilization , Sorghum bicolorL , sweet sorghum , translocation
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Research Institute for Biological Safety Problems, National Holding “QazBioPharm”, Gvardeiskiy, 080409, Kazakhstan
Agricultural Academy, Maritsa Vegetable Crops Research Institute, Plovdiv, 4000, Bulgaria
Kazakh Research Institute of Soil Science and Agrochemistry Named After U. U. Uspanov, Almaty, 050060, Kazakhstan
Department of Chemical and Biochemical Engineering, Satbayev University, Almaty, 050013, Kazakhstan
Institute of Agriculture and Plant Growing, Almalybak, 040909, Kazakhstan
Research Institute for Biological Safety Problems
Agricultural Academy
Kazakh Research Institute of Soil Science and Agrochemistry Named After U. U. Uspanov
Department of Chemical and Biochemical Engineering
Institute of Agriculture and Plant Growing
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