ABSTRACT
We have established the conditions to obtain in vitro root cultures of Thypha latifolia and Scirpus americanus and have investigated their capacity to remove Pb(II), Mn(II) and Cr(III) from the culture medium. The best conditions for the in vitro culture growth were: an inoculum of 0.2 g of T. latifolia roots and 0.05 g of S. americanus roots (fresh weight), Murashige-Skoog medium and 2 mg L-1of indolacetic acid. The T. latifolia and S. americanus root cultures were cultivated onto media containing Cr (15 µg L-1), Pb (60 µg L-1) or Mn (1.8 mg L-1). Both species were able to remove Pb and Cr near to 100% and 71-100% of Mn from the medium solution during the 6-8 days of experimentation. According to metal concentrations removed from the medium containing the growing root mass, the in vitro root culture of S. americanus can be considered as an accumulator for Pb (157.73 µg g-1), Cr (55.6 µg g-1) and Mn (5000 µg g-1).