A newly discovered Cd-hyperaccumulator Lantana camara L

Highlights: • The combined testing via laboratory dose-gradient and field sample analysis was performed. • Cd treatment did not significantly reduce shoot biomass and did not cause visible injury. • Antioxidant protection and photosynthetic regulation contribute to high Cd tolerance. • Typical hyperaccumulating traits established lantana as a potential Cd hyperaccumulator. -- Abstract: The identification of hyperaccumulators is a key step for the phytoextraction of contaminated soils. However, few cadmium (Cd) hyperaccumulators have been identified in the plant kingdom. In our previous field investigations, Lantana camara L. plants exhibited some traits of hyperaccumulators. To confirm whether this species is a Cd hyperaccumulator, laboratory dose-gradient experiments and field sample analysis experiments were first designed and implemented in an integrated manner. The results showed that lantana plants did not exhibit any visible damage or marked reduction in shoot biomass when grown in Cd-contaminated soil with less than 100 mg kg⁻¹ Cd. Moreover, the lantana plants exhibited high Cd tolerance with effective coordination of photosynthesis and rapid reactive oxygen species scavenging. Most importantly, the bioaccumulation factors (BFs) and translocation factors (TFs) were greater than 1.0 in all the Cd treatments, while the Cd concentrations in the shoots were all greater than those in the roots and were also greater than 100 mg kg⁻¹, the threshold value for a Cd hyperaccumulator. Our data provide comprehensive evidence that lantana plants have the typical characteristics of a Cd hyperaccumulator and thus can be regarded as potential Cd-hyperaccumulating plants for the restoration of Cd-polluted soils.