Phytoremediation of freshwater contaminated with crude oil is a technology that can restore damaged freshwater areas. Lemna minor is a small vascular plant that reproduces rapidly, is sensitive to a wide variety of pollutants, and is easy to culture. This study aimed to evaluate the phytoremediation capacity of L. minor in crude oil spiked cultures. | Turkish Journal of Biology Turk J Biol (2015) 39: 479-484 © TÜBİTAK doi: Research Article Evaluation of the phytoremediation capacity of Lemna minor L. in crude oil spiked cultures 1 2 3 4 3, Taylan KÖSESAKAL , Vesile Selma ÜNLÜ , Oktay KÜLEN , Abdülrezzak MEMON , BayramYÜKSEL * 1 Department of Botany, Faculty of Science, İstanbul University, Süleymaniye, İstanbul, Turkey 2 Department of Physical Oceanography and Marine Biology, Institute of Marine Science and Management, İstanbul University, Vefa, İstanbul, Turkey 3 Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology Institute (GEBI), the Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey (TÜBİTAK), Marmara Research Center (MRC), Gebze, Kocaeli, Turkey 4 Genetics and Bioengineering Program, Faculty of Engineering and Natural Sciences, International University of Sarajevo, Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina Received: Accepted/Published Online: Printed: Abstract: Phytoremediation of freshwater contaminated with crude oil is a technology that can restore damaged freshwater areas. Lemna minor is a small vascular plant that reproduces rapidly, is sensitive to a wide variety of pollutants, and is easy to culture. This study aimed to evaluate the phytoremediation capacity of L. minor in crude oil spiked cultures. Cultivation was carried out for 7 days in a greenhouse with a natural photoperiod and in nutrient solutions containing , 1%, 2%, and 3% crude oil. Extracts were analyzed using GC/MS and synchronous UV fluorescence spectroscopy. After a week of cultivation, the fresh weight of plants in the control medium increased by 117%. The presence of crude oil up to v/v reduced growth as much as 50% relative to the control plants. C17/ Pr and C18/Ph ratios decreased especially in the presence of to 2% v/v crude oil in the growth media. In oil concentrations, both unplanted control samples and plant samples .
