Did You Know?
. . . that nickel is an essential part of plant metabolism? It's a Natural Nickel Fact
Nickel Magazine, June, 2003 -- In early Earth history, when metabolism was
based on such chemicals as methane, carbon monoxide and hydrogen gas, nickel (and cobalt) was
important for the metabolism of organisms that lived on Earth at that time.
As the concentration of oxygen in the Earth's atmosphere increased, the value of nickel in metabolism
decreased, being largely replaced by zinc.
Source: "The biological chemistry fo the elements: The inorganic chemistry of life." By J. J. R. Frausto da
Silva and R. J. P. Williams, Oxford University Press, 2001.
Expert Dialogues:
Dr. Bruce Conard
Vice President, Environmental and Health Sciences
Inco Limited
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Listen to interview (5:49)
RealAudio (715 kB)
"Virtually all vegetation requires nickel. Most of the vegetation takes up only a very small amount because
all they need is a small amount. There are some plants . . . that are hyper-accumulators. They are special
plants that have developed a specific survival technique . . . they have primarily developed in naturally
high, serpentitic, or lateritic soils . . . they thrive where nickel is highest. . . There are about 300
speices of plants that are hyper-accumulators for nickel. . . but 99.9% of species are not
hyper-accumulators."
Dr. Anne Fairbrother
Chief, Risk Characterization Branch
Western Ecology Division
National Health and Environmental Effects Research Laboratory
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Listen to interview (6:00)
RealAudio (657 kB)
"Nickel is a co-factor or a way of helping to initiate the activity of a particular enzyme . . . that's
important in the metabolism of nitrogen. Of course, plants, like people, need nitrogen as part of their diet.
We get it through eating protein. Plants get nitrogen out of soils . . . this pathway
helps to take that nitrogen and metabolize it in plants."
Download a Real Player here. Look for the
link entitled "Free RealOne Player."
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