Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) constitute a class of more than 4,000 manmade compounds which have been produced since mid-20th century. Environmental contamination by PFAS has raised concerns for years. Toxicity to wildlife and laboratory animals is well established for the long chain PFAS, as well as short the chain PFAS which have been recently introduced by the manufacturing industry to replace the formers considered very persistent in the environment. Recent studies have reported that PFAS bioaccumulates in plants. However, to date, little information regarding the phytotoxic effects and degradation mechanisms of short-chain PFAS, such as perfluoro-hexanoic acid (PFHxA), in higher plants is available. To assess the uptake, toxicity, and metabolism of short chain PFAS precursors (perfluoro-alcohols) in plants, the model plant species, Arabidopsis thaliana, was exposed to perfluoro-decanol, perfluoro-octanol, perfluoro-hexanol. The toxic effects of the three compounds were assessed by germination and growth tests. Based on observations we found that the shorter-chain compounds, perfluoro-octanol and perfluoro-hexanol, caused a reduction of the Arabidopsis biomass at very high concentration. Exposure to 100 uM, 300 uM, 900 uM, 1200 uM, and 1800 uM perfluoro-decanol and perfluoro-hexanol did not show significant difference in the plant biomass. However, plants exposed to 1200 uM, 1800 uM and 2400 uM perfluoro-octanol and 2400 uM perfluoro-hexanol showed a significant reduction in biomass. Overall, the results demonstrated that the most toxic effect is seen in plants exposed to perfluoro-octanol at very high dose. The uptake and transformation of the perfluoro-alcohols by plants is currently investigated using QuEChERS (analysis in plant tissues will be performed by Quick, Easy, Cheap, Effective, Rugged and Safe) micro-extraction and liquid chromatography – mass spectrometry analysis. To understand the molecular bases of the toxicity and metabolism of PFAS in A. thaliana, transcriptomic analyses (RNA sequencing) of exposed Arabidopsis plants will also be performed.

Toxicity and metabolism of short-chain per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana

ACS Spring Meeting 2021

The official archive and repository for all ACS Meetings & Expositions abstracts and select posters or presentations.