How Does Ethylene Glycol Affect Plants?
- A 2011 study in the International Journal of Phytoremediation found that poplar trees grown on ethylene glycol-contaminated soil or with ethylene glycol-contaminated water exhibited lower levels of stem growth. Arabadopsis thaliana is a popular experimental model in plant biology, and as noted in the same study, past tests have demonstrated that concentrations of 60 grams per liter can decrease shoot growth by as much as 42 percent. Roots of young Arabadopsis seedlings are especially sensitive.
- According to the same study, Arabadopsis seeds grown in the presence of 40 grams per liter or more of ethylene glycol did not germinate. Concentrations as high as 30 grams per liter markedly decreased the percentage of seeds that germinated, and even those that did exhibited stunted growth, with dramatically reduced numbers of leaves. Even concentrations as low as 10 grams per liter were sufficient to cause a severe reduction in root growth.
- Radishes, lettuce, ryegrass and many other plants all exhibit similar symptoms. Consequently, it seems likely that high concentrations of ethylene glycol will be damaging to most plants, although many have not yet been tested. The ethylene glycol does not seem to be interfering with the plant's metabolism. What makes it toxic is its effects on osmosis, the process plants use to take up water. Ethylene glycol dissolves well in water, so it changes solute concentrations and makes it more difficult for the plant to take up and transport water and nutrients.
- Ethylene glycol plays a natural role in plants, although it's present only at very low levels. That's because ethylene, a molecule with the formula C2H4, is an important plant hormone and an unusual one, being the only gaseous hormone in plants. Inside plant cells, it's metabolized to ethylene glycol, a molecule with the formula C2H6O2; the ethylene glycol is then broken down further. Ethylene glycol, however, does not stimulate or regulate growth, unlike the hormone from which it is formed.
Growth
Germination
Other Effects
Hormone
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