Abstract
Iron accumulation was studied in shoots of the aquatic moss Drepanocladus fluitans (Hedw.) Warnst collected from an acid lake and stream. The concentration of iron in the shoots of the moss from Lake Usoriko (pH 3.4–3.8) increased from the tip toward the base and ranged from 0.07 to 10% on a dry weight basis. The iron concentration in the lake water was 0.15 mg 1−1. In contrast, iron concentration in the shoots of D. fluitans from Kashiranashigawa stream (pH 4.2–4.7), one of the streams flowing into Lake Usoriko, was only 0.02 mg g−1 at the shoot tip and 0.3% at the shoot base, while that in the stream water was <0.02 mg 1−1. Transmission electron microscopy using a X-ray microanalyzer (TEM-XMA) study revealed accumulation of needle-like iron crystals on the cell wall and decomposed cell components. In addition, many rod-type bacteria were found in the accumulated iron deposits.
The accumulation of iron in the shoots of D. fluitans is due to two processes: biological accumulation of essential iron dissolved in acid water, and abiological crystal growth on the surface of organic particulate material including the cell wall.
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Satake, K. Iron accumulation on the cell wall of the aquatic moss Drepanocladus fluitans in an acid lake at pH 3.4–3.8. Hydrobiologia 433, 25–30 (2000). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1004002300608
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1004002300608