The metabolic mechanisms of formaldehyde in the roots, stems and leaves of Dieffenbachia maculata

Indoor formaldehyde primarily originates from building materials, furniture, artificial boards, and various adhesive coatings. Phytoremediation is a green and environmentally friendly method for removing formaldehyde. The existing researches on the removing formaldehyde by plants lacked exploration of Dieffenbachia maculata, which had a purification rate of formaldehyde of 43.7%. This study subjected the roots, stems and leaves of D. maculata to time-gradient treatments with formaldehyde isotopic solutions. The metabolites for assimilating formaldehyde in the roots, stems and leaves parts of D. maculata were determined. The metabolic pathways of formaldehyde in each part of D. maculata were analyzed, and the metabolic pathway diagrams were drawn. The experimental results revealed that under the treatment of time gradients of formaldehyde isotope solution, the metabolites involved in formaldehyde detoxification in different parts of D. maculata included formic acid, bicarbonate ion, formic acid, citric acid, glycine, asparagine, glutamine, glutamic acid, fructosamine, and gluconic acid. The glyoxylate acid cycle and the tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle worked in concert in the process of decontaminating formaldehyde, and the Calvin cycle played a role in the formaldehyde decontamination in the stems and leaves of D. maculata, while gluconeogenesis was involved in the formaldehyde decontamination in the roots of D. maculata.