The PCGs on the J-strand are slightly T- or A-skewed and moderately C-skewed, whereas the N-strand encoded PCGs are all markedly T-skewed and G-skewed.
It is time to consider to usher this technology into practical use to remediate slightly to moderately Cd-contaminated soils, especially those contaminated only by Cd, considering that most of the encouraging results from field trials (Table 5) have been obtained in soils contaminated only by Cd at slight to moderate level (in most cases, soils with < 5 mg Cd kg−1).
The treatments for the calcareous soil were the same as for the moderately acidic soil (C-c, CPb-c, SS-c, SSPb-c, TSP-c, and TSPPb-c).
These results, therefore, highlight (a) a unique opportunity for successful phytoextraction of slightly to moderately Cd-contaminated soils in Europe and Asia and (b) an urgent need for more research on Cd phytoextraction in other parts of the world, especially where soil Cd contamination is also among the major environmental problems.
Alternatively, several approaches to clean-up moderately Cd-polluted paddy soils have been suggested.
Nevertheless, it should be noted that the encouraging results mentioned above were all observed in slightly to moderately Cd-contaminated soils (<10 mg kg−1) and the relevant field trials were conducted in Europe or Asia.
In agreement with this statement, we found that the average % Cd removal of plants grown on slightly to moderately Cd-contaminated soils (<10 mg kg−1) was 1.82%, being 42-fold higher than that of heavily contaminated soils.
The encouraging results of field-scale studies have provided a fundamental basis to usher phytoextraction technology into practical use to remediate slightly to moderately Cd-contaminated soils in Europe and Asia, although this technology is not yet ready for widespread application.
Laboratory test results showed moderate anemia, severe lymphopenia, and moderately increased C-reactive protein.
