Roy S
Sherbrooke
Canada
Research Article
The Symbiosis between Frankia alni and Alder Shrubs Results in a Tolerance of the Environmental Stress Associated With Tailings from the Canadian Oil Sands Industry
Author(s): Mallet PL and Roy S*Mallet PL and Roy S*
Alders are well recognized for their ability to colonize the harsh environments created by either natural processes or human activity. They establish symbiosis with the actinomycete Frankia which supplies 70 to 100 % of the plant’s nitrogen requirements. An important challenge facing the oil sands industry in Alberta, Canada, is management of the toxicity of Tailing Sands (TS) that are alkaline, saline and contain Naphthenic Acids (NA).In order to begin to understand how alders, Frankia and their symbiosis perform and adapt to these challenging environmental conditions, the tolerance of the microsymbiont (Frankia), the host plants (alders) and their symbiosis to specific compounds found in TS was studied. In addition, the metabolic response of Frankiaalni ACN14a to the presence of NA was characterized. The Frankia strains tested tolerated both high pH and NA levels in addition t.. View More»
DOI:
10.4172/2157-7463.1000180