Biomonitoring heavy metal contaminations by moss visible parameters.
Traditional sampling for heavy metal monitoring is a time-consuming and inconvenient method, which also does not indicate contaminants non-invasively and instantaneously. Moss is sensitive to heavy metals and is therefore considered a pollution indicator. However, it is unknown what kind physiological parameters can indicate metal contaminations quickly and non-invasively. Here, we systematically examined the effects of six heavy metals on physiological parameters and photosynthetic activities of two moss species grown in aquatic media or moist soil surface. We suggest that a phenotype with anthocyanin accumulation pattern and chlorosis pattern and two chlorophyll fluorescence parameters with their images can roughly reflect metal species groups, concentrations and differences between the two moss species. In other words, metal contaminations could be roughly estimated visually using the naked eye. Enzymatic and non-enzymatic anti-oxidative abilities and photosynthetic protein contents of Eurhynchium eustegium were higher than those of Taxiphyllum taxirameum, indicating their differential metal tolerance. Neither anti-oxidative abilities nor photosynthetic proteins were found to be ideal indicators. This study provides new ideas to monitor heavy metals rapidly and non-invasively in water or on wetland and moist soil surface.
College of Life Sciences, Sichuan Agricultural University, Ya'an 625014, China.
Yang-Er
YE
Chen
College of Life Sciences, Sichuan Agricultural University, Ya'an 625014, China.
Jun-Mei
JM
Cui
College of Life Sciences, Sichuan Agricultural University, Ya'an 625014, China.
Jin-Chuan
JC
Yang
College of Resources Science and Technology, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu 611130, China.
Zhong-Wei
ZW
Zhang
College of Life Sciences, Sichuan Agricultural University, Ya'an 625014, China.
Ming
M
Yuan
College of Environment, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu 611130, China.
Chun
C
Song
College of Agronomy, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu 611130, China.
Hui
H
Yang
College of Life Sciences, Sichuan Agricultural University, Ya'an 625014, China.
Han-Mei
HM
Liu
College of Resources Science and Technology, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu 611130, China.
Chang-Quan
CQ
Wang
College of Life Sciences, Sichuan Agricultural University, Ya'an 625014, China.
Huai-Yu
HY
Zhang
College of Life Sciences, Sichuan Agricultural University, Ya'an 625014, China.
Xian-Yin
XY
Zeng
College of Resources Science and Technology, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu 611130, China. Electronic address: roundtree318@hotmail.com.
Shu
S
Yuan
D019068:Bryopsida / Q000737:chemistry / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000254:growth & development; D002734:Chlorophyll / Q000032:analysis; D004784:Environmental Monitoring / Q000379:methods*; D019216:Metals, Heavy / Q000032:analysis*; D010860:Pigments, Biological / Q000378:metabolism; D017382:Reactive Oxygen Species / Q000378:metabolism; D012989:Soil Pollutants / Q000032:analysis*; D013054:Spectrophotometry, Atomic; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000032:analysis*
D019216:Metals, Heavy; D010860:Pigments, Biological; D017382:Reactive Oxygen Species; D012989:Soil Pollutants; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical; D002734:Chlorophyll
Anthocyanin; Chlorophyll fluorescence; Heavy metal monitoring; Moss; Physiological parameters