The three-year monitoring of 18 elements in five edible mushroom species collected from an old orchard

Abstract

The content of Al, As, Be, Cd, Ca, Cr, Co, Cu, Fe, Pb, Li, Mg, Mn, Ni, Rb, Se, Sr, and Zn in fruiting bodies of edible mushrooms Calocybe gambosa, Entoloma clypeatum, Entoloma saepium, Xerocomellus chrysenteron, and Amanita rubescens growing in an orchard planted with fruit trees and situated close to a high-grown forest was studied during years 2016–2018. A. rubescens showed the highest potential of the element accumulation with bioconcentration factors of 48.5, 16.2, 7.80, 6.53, 1.75, and 1.68 obtained for Rb, Cd, Cu, Zn, Sr, and Mg, respectively. Both Entoloma species accumulated the elements similarly with bioconcentration factors >1.0 obtained for Rb, Cu, Cd, and Mg. Bioconcentration factors <0.05 were obtained for Al, Cr, Fe, and Pb in all studied species. The contents of beryllium (<0.1?mg/kg dry matter) were always the lowest among the studied elements. The contents of some elements of studied mushroom species significantly fluctuated over the years. Despite the fact that some studied elements (As, Be, Cd, Pb, Ni) are considerably toxic for humans, the pronounced effect on health is not expected if the studied mushroom species are consumed occasionally and do not represent the main component of the diet.     

Heavy metal bioaccumulation by wild edible saprophytic and ectomycorrhizal mushrooms

Heavy metals cause serious problems in the environment, and they can be accumulated in organisms, especially in the higher fungi. The concentration of Ni, Cr, Pb, Cd, and Hg in 10 species of edible mushrooms in Medvednica Nature Park, Croatia was therefore determined. In addition, the similarity between the studied species was determined by cluster analysis based on concentrations of the aforementioned metals in the fruiting bodies. The contents of nickel, chromium, lead, cadmium, and mercury in the fruiting bodies of mushrooms were obtained by X-ray fluorescence spectrometry. The highest concentrations of Ni (3.62 mg kg^?1), Cr (3.01 mg kg^?1), and Cd (2.67 mg kg^?1) were determined in Agaricus campestris. The highest concentration of Pb (1.67 mg kg^?1) was determined in Macrolepiota procera, and the highest concentration of Hg (2.39 mg kg^?1) was determined in Boletus edulis. The concentration of all heavy metals significantly differed (p?<?0.001) between examined saprophytic and ectomycorrhizal mushrooms. Considering anatomical part of the fruiting body (cap-stipe), a considerably higher concentration of the analyzed elements was found in the cap for all mushroom species. According to calculated bioconcentration factors, all the examined species were found to be bioexclusors of Ni, Cr, and Pb and bioaccumulators of Cd and Hg. Cluster analysis performed on the basis of the accumulation of the studied metals revealed great phenotypic similarity of mushroom species belonging to the same genus and partial similarity of species of the same ecological affiliation.

     

Protected‐Area Boundaries as Filters of Plant Invasions

Abstract: Human land uses surrounding protected areas provide propagules for colonization of these areas by non‐native species, and corridors between protected‐area networks and drainage systems of rivers provide pathways for long‐distance dispersal of non‐native species. Nevertheless, the influence of protected‐area boundaries on colonization of protected areas by invasive non‐native species is unknown. We drew on a spatially explicit data set of more than 27,000 non‐native plant presence records for South Africa's Kruger National Park to examine the role of boundaries in preventing colonization of protected areas by non‐native species. The number of records of non‐native invasive plants declined rapidly beyond 1500 m inside the park; thus, we believe that the park boundary limited the spread of non‐native plants. The number of non‐native invasive plants inside the park was a function of the amount of water runoff, density of major roads, and the presence of natural vegetation outside the park. Of the types of human‐induced disturbance, only the density of major roads outside the protected area significantly increased the number of non‐native plant records. Our findings suggest that the probability of incursion of invasive plants into protected areas can be quantified reliably.     

Influence of Suspended Clay Minerals and Humic Matter on the Solid Phase Extraction Efficiency of Selected Pesticides from Water

The purpose of this investigation was to determine the influence of humic acids (HA) and Ca-montmorillonite (CaM) on the solid-phase extraction (SPE) efficiency of atrazine, alachlor and α-cypermethrin from water samples at various pH-values. The nature and intensity of binding of the studied pesticides to CaM were determined by X-ray diffraction analysis and termogravimetric analysis (TGA) test. The studied pesticides eluted from discs were analysed by thin-layer chromatography (TLC). The effects of CaM and humic acid were generally pH-dependent and acted independently in extraction efficiency influence. Lower recovery of pesticides was observed at higher pH values when CaM was ≥0.1 g and was attributed to greater dispersion of clay, increased surface area and subsequent adsorption. Concentrations of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) in humic acid had less effect on the extraction efficiency when water was at pH 8 compared to water at pH 2, which was probably due to greater nonpolar interactions of the pesticides to the charge-neutralized humic acid molecule.     

Canopy leaching of nutrients and metals in a mountain spruce forest

Precipitation and throughfall fluxes of major ions, nutrients (C, N, P), and metals (Al, Fe, Mn), and the chemical composition of litter fall and living plant tissue in Norway spruce stands (the Bohemian Forest; Czech Republic), were used to evaluate how microbial processes and decay of plant tissue in canopies influence canopy leaching (CL) of elements. Proton exchange for Mg²⁺, Ca²⁺, and K⁺ in decaying biomass and co-transport of Ca²⁺ and K⁺ out of plant cells with organic acid anions were the most likely processes contributing to CL of base cations. The CL of total P and N (and also NO₃^?) was minor. Important proportions of the N and P mineral forms were transformed to organic forms by microbial processes (primary and bacterial production), with the respective CL of ?13.9 and 16.4 mmol m^?2 yr^?1 for NH₄⁺ and organic N, and ?0.33 and 0.22 mmol m^?2 yr^?1 for dissolved reactive P (DRP) and organic P. Most of particulate P and N in throughfall (～90%) originated from microbial DRP and NH₄⁺ transformations, but particulate C mostly came from the fragmentation of plant tissue (58%). Among metals, CL was not observed for Al, was small for Fe (0.3 mmol m^?2 yr^?1), and greatest for Mn (0.9 mmol m^?2 yr^?1) due to leaching from decaying tissue by acidic precipitation.     

The effect of thiacloprid formulation on DNA/chromosome damage and changes in GST activity in bovine peripheral lymphocytes

The potential genotoxic effect of thiacloprid formulation on bovine peripheral lymphocytes was evaluated using the comet assay and the cytogenetic endpoints: chromosome aberrations (CAs), sister chromatid exchanges (SCEs) and micronuclei (MNi). Whole blood cultures were treated with the insecticide at concentrations of 30, 60, 120, 240 and 480 μg mL^?1 for 24, 48 h and/or 2 h of incubation. A statistically significant increase in the frequency of DNA damage, as well as in unstable chromosome aberrations (% breaks) were found after exposure to the insecticide at concentrations ranging from 120 to 480 μg mL^?1 (P < 0.05, P < 0.01, P < 0.001). For the detection of stable structural chromosome aberrations (e.g., translocations) and numerical aberrations by the FISH method, three whole chromosome painting probes for bovine chromosomes 1, 5 and 7 (BTA1, BTA5 and BTA7) were used in our experiments. We observed numerical aberrations, but without any statistical significance. Regarding the sister chromatid exchanges, no significant elevation in the SCE frequencies was found after 24-h exposure to the insecticide. A dose-related response in the SCE induction was obtained in bovine cultures after the prolonged time of exposure (48 h) to thiacloprid formulation at concentrations ranging from 120 to 480 μg mL^?1 in each donor (P < 0.05, P < 0.01), which was associated with a reduction of the PI (P < 0.05, P < 0.01). The insecticide failed to produce MNi; however, a significant reduction of CBPI was observed. Using real-time PCR, a decrease in the expression of bovine glutathione S-transferase M3 (GSTM3) was detected at the lowest dose. The higher concentrations of thiacloprid formulation caused an increase in the mRNA expression.     

Direct electrothermal atomic spectrometric determination of Ag in aqua regia extracts of soils, sediments, and sewage sludge with matrix modification

Silver is subject to significant interferences caused by high chloride concentrations in electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry, thus its direct determination in aqua regia leaches from soils, sediments, and sludges is very difficult, especially when using instrumentation equipped with deuterium-lamp background correction (D₂). In this study, the interference of the aqua regia medium was successfully eliminated using Pd–citric acid chemical modifier. This chemical modifier was found to be the most advantageous in comparison with Pd mixture with ascorbic acid, tartaric acid, or citric acid–Li based on its ability to suppress the interference originating from different chloride matrix. Palladium increases the analyte stability; citric acid serves as a reducing reagent, and furthermore, it helps to remove the interfering chlorides by forming HCl, in the drying step of the electrothermal program. In the presence of the modifier, the pyrolysis temperature can be adjusted up to 1,000 °C with no loss of the analyte. The obtained limit of detection and characteristic mass were 5 ng g^?1 and 1.7 pg, respectively. The accuracy of the method was verified by means of six different reference samples and by comparing the results of the analysis of real samples with those obtained by inductively coupled plasma orthogonal acceleration time-of-flight mass spectrometer. The proposed method was applied to the Ag determination in soils, sediments, and sewage sludge samples from the Pardubice region in Czech Republic.