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Differing effects of inorganic and organic arsenic on uptake and distribution of multi-elements in Rice grain

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Abstract

Arsenic (As) pollution can lead to an element imbalance in rice. A hydroponic study was carried out to examine the influence of inorganic (arsenate) and organic (dimethylarsinic acid (DMA)) arsenic compounds on the concentration and distribution of iron (Fe), manganese (Mn), copper (Cu), zinc (Zn), nickel (Ni), carbon (C), nitrogen (N), and sulfur (S) in rice caryopsis at maturity using laser confocal microscopy and synchrotron X-ray fluorescence (SXRF). Results showed that treatments with inorganic (iAs) and organic (DMA) arsenic did not change the distribution characteristics of the above elements in rice grains. Fe, Mn, and iAs were mainly limited to the ventral ovular vascular trace, while Cu, Zn, and DMA extended into the endosperm. This implies that milling processes are likely to remove a majority of Fe, Mn, and iAs, but not Cu, Zn, and DMA. With regard to the average fluorescent intensity of the rice endosperm, iAs exposure caused significant reductions in Mn (53%), Fe (40%), Cu (27%), and Zn (74%) while DMA treatments decreased Mn (49%), Fe (37%), and Zn (21%). Compared with DMA, iAs exerted more influence on the reduction of these elements in rice caryopsis. In addition, the elemental analysis revealed a significant 12.7% increase for N and 8% reduction for S in DMA-treated rice caryopsis while a significant decrease of 24.0% for S in iAs-exposed rice caryopsis. These findings suggest that Cu, Zn, and S are more easily impacted by iAs, while N is mostly affected by DMA.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the National Key R&D Program of China (No. 2017YFD0800303); the Natural Science Foundation of Fujian Province, China (Grant No. 2014 J01138); and the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 41501519 and 41571130063). Eric Frau Zama is supported by the Chinese Academy of Sciences President’s International Fellowship for Postdoctoral Researchers (2020PC0002). We thank the Shanghai Institute of Applied Physics, Chinese Academy of Science, for providing technical support in relation to the synchrotron X-ray fluorescent microprobe. We appreciate Prof. Andrew A. Meharg from Queen’s University Belfast and Prof. Yong-Guan Zhu from the Chinese Academy of Sciences for their construction suggestions to this manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Ecology and Resource Engineering, Wuyi University, Wuyishan Shi, 354300, Fujian Province, China

    Maozhong Zheng & Yongle Hu

  2. Fujian Provincial Key Laboratory of Eco-Industrial Green Technology, Wuyishan, 354300, Fujian, China

    Maozhong Zheng & Yongle Hu

  3. CAS Key Lab of Urban Environment and Health, Fujian Key Lab of Watershed Ecology, Institute of Urban Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xiamen, 361021, China

    Maozhong Zheng, Gang Li & Eric Fru Zama

  4. Zhejiang Key Lab of Urban Environmental Processes and Pollution Control, Ningbo Urban Environmental Observatory and Research Station, Institute of Urban Environment, Chinese Academy of Science, Ningbo, 361021, China

    Gang Li & Eric Fru Zama

  5. Department of Environmental Health Sciences, School of Public Health, University of Michigan, 109 Observatory Street, Ann Arbor, MI, 48109-2029, USA

    Jerome Nriagu

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  1. Maozhong Zheng
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Contributions

Conceived and designed the experiments: MZZ and GL. Performed the experiments: MZZ and GL. Analyzed the data and prepared the figures: MZZ, YLH, and GL. Wrote the paper: MZZ, GL, and JN. Reviewed and commented on the paper: MZZ, GL, JN, and EFZ. All authors read and approved the manuscript.

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Correspondence to Gang Li.

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Zheng, M., Li, G., Hu, Y. et al. Differing effects of inorganic and organic arsenic on uptake and distribution of multi-elements in Rice grain. Environ Sci Pollut Res 28, 7918–7928 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-020-11194-0

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