College of Resources and Environment, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou, 350002, Fujian, China; CAS Key Laboratory for Biological Effects of Nanomaterials and Nanosafety, And HKU-IHEP Joint Laboratory on Metallomics, And State Environmental Protection Engineering Center for Mercury Pollution Prevention and Control, Institute of High Energy Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China.
College of Resources and Environment, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou, 350002, Fujian, China.
Ecotoxicol Environ Saf. 2019 Oct 30;182:109447. doi: 10.1016/j.ecoenv.2019.109447. Epub 2019 Jul 17.
Methylmercury (MeHg) in rice grains grown in Hg-contaminated areas has raised environmental health concerns. Pot experiments found that selenium (Se) could reduce MeHg levels in rice grains. However, relatively high levels of Se (up to 6 mg/kg) were applied in these pot experiments, which may have adverse effects on the soil ecology due to the toxicity of Se. The aims of this work were thus to study 1) the effect of low levels of Se on the accumulation and distribution of Hg, especially MeHg, in rice plants grown in a real Hg-contaminated paddy field and 2) the effect of Se treatment on Se and other nutritional elements (e.g., Cu, Fe, Zn) in grains. A field study amended with different levels of Se was carried out in Hg-contaminated paddy soil in Qingzhen, Guizhou, China. The levels of MeHg and total Hg were studied using cold vapor atomic fluorescence spectrometry (CVAFS) and inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). The distribution and relative quantification of elements in grains were examined by synchrotron radiation X-ray fluorescence analysis (SR-XRF). This field study showed that low levels of Se (0.5 μg/mL, corresponding to 0.15 mg Se/kg soils) could significantly reduce total Hg and MeHg in rice tissues. Se treatment also reduced Hg distribution in the embryo and endosperm and increased the levels of Fe, Cu, Zn and Se in grains and especially embryos. This field study implied that treatment with an appropriate level of Se is an effective approach to not only decrease the level of MeHg but to also increase the levels of nutritional elements such as Fe, Cu, Zn and Se in rice grains, which could bring beneficial effects for rice-dependent residents living in Hg-contaminated areas.
甲基汞(MeHg)在受汞污染地区种植的大米中的存在引起了人们对环境健康的关注。盆栽实验发现,硒(Se)可以降低大米中的 MeHg 含量。然而,这些盆栽实验中使用的硒浓度相对较高(高达 6mg/kg),由于硒的毒性,可能会对土壤生态系统产生不利影响。因此,本研究的目的是:1)研究低浓度硒对在真实受汞污染稻田中生长的水稻植株中汞,特别是 MeHg 的积累和分布的影响;2)研究硒处理对硒和其他营养元素(如铜(Cu)、铁(Fe)、锌(Zn))在稻米中的影响。在中国贵州清镇的受汞污染稻田中进行了一项添加不同浓度硒的田间研究。采用冷原子荧光光谱法(CVAFS)和电感耦合等离子体质谱法(ICP-MS)研究了 MeHg 和总汞的含量。采用同步辐射 X 射线荧光分析(SR-XRF)研究了元素在稻米中的分布和相对定量。这项田间研究表明,低浓度硒(0.5μg/mL,相当于 0.15mg Se/kg 土壤)可以显著降低水稻组织中的总汞和 MeHg。硒处理还降低了汞在胚和胚乳中的分布,并增加了稻米中 Fe、Cu、Zn 和 Se 的含量,尤其是在胚中。这项田间研究表明,施用适量的硒不仅可以降低 MeHg 的含量,还可以增加稻米中 Fe、Cu、Zn 和 Se 等营养元素的含量,这对生活在汞污染地区的以稻米为食的居民可能带来有益的影响。