Bioaccumulation and translocation of tetrabromobisphenol A and hexabromocyclododecanes in mangrove plants from a national nature reserve of Shenzhen City, South China

Huawei Li; Yongxia Hu; Yuxin Sun; Amila O De Silva; Derek C G Muir; Weiwei Wang; Jinli Xie; Xiangrong Xu; Nancai Pei; Yanmei Xiong; Xiaojun Luo; Bixian Mai

doi:10.1016/j.envint.2019.05.034

Bioaccumulation and translocation of tetrabromobisphenol A and hexabromocyclododecanes in mangrove plants from a national nature reserve of Shenzhen City, South China

Environ Int. 2019 Aug:129:239-246. doi: 10.1016/j.envint.2019.05.034. Epub 2019 May 27.

Authors

Huawei Li¹, Yongxia Hu², Yuxin Sun³, Amila O De Silva⁴, Derek C G Muir⁴, Weiwei Wang¹, Jinli Xie¹, Xiangrong Xu⁵, Nancai Pei⁶, Yanmei Xiong⁶, Xiaojun Luo⁷, Bixian Mai⁷

Affiliations

¹ CAS Key Laboratory of Tropical Marine Bio-resources and Ecology; Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Applied Marine Biology, South China Sea Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510301, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China.
² CAS Key Laboratory of Tropical Marine Bio-resources and Ecology; Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Applied Marine Biology, South China Sea Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510301, China.
³ CAS Key Laboratory of Tropical Marine Bio-resources and Ecology; Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Applied Marine Biology, South China Sea Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510301, China; Institution of South China Sea Ecology and Environmental Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510301, China; Aquatic Contaminants Research Division, Environment and Climate Change Canada, Burlington L7S 1A1, Canada. Electronic address: sunyx@scsio.ac.cn.
⁴ Aquatic Contaminants Research Division, Environment and Climate Change Canada, Burlington L7S 1A1, Canada.
⁵ CAS Key Laboratory of Tropical Marine Bio-resources and Ecology; Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Applied Marine Biology, South China Sea Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510301, China; Institution of South China Sea Ecology and Environmental Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510301, China.
⁶ Research Institute of Tropical Forestry, Chinese Academy of Forestry, Guangzhou 510520, China.
⁷ State Key Laboratory of Organic Geochemistry, Guangzhou Institute of Geochemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510640, China.

PMID: 31146158
DOI: 10.1016/j.envint.2019.05.034

Abstract

Brominated flame retardants (BFRs) such as tetrabromobisphenol A (TBBPA) and hexabromocyclododecanes (HBCDs) are of ecological concern due to their ubiquitous presence and adverse effects. There is a paucity of data on environmental fate of such compounds in mangrove wetlands, which are unique ecosystems in coastal intertidal areas and act as natural sinks for many pollutants. In this study, mangrove plants and sediments were collected from an urban nature reserve in South China to investigate bioaccumulation and translocation of TBBPA and HBCDs. The mean (range) concentrations of TBBPA and ΣHBCD in roots, stems and leaves were 67 (<MDL-999), 174 (0.73-1105) and 20 (0.59-250) pg/g dry weight (dw), and 329 (15.6-2234), 766 (32.9-3255) and 298 (19.9-1520) pg/g dw, respectively. Tissue-specific accumulations were observed, varying with plant species and compounds. HBCD diastereoisomer patterns were similar for all plant species. γ-HBCD was the major diastereoisomer in roots, while α-HBCD dominated in stems and leaves. The predominance of α-HBCD in aboveground tissues may be ascribed to diastereoisomer-specific translocation, isomerization and/or metabolization in mangrove plants. Preferential enrichment of (-)-α-, (-)-β- and (+)-γ-HBCDs was found in all mangrove plant tissues, suggesting the enantioselectivity for HBCDs in mangrove plants. Translocation factors (log TF, root to stem) of HBCD diastereoisomers and log K_ow were negatively correlated (p = 0.03), indicating passive translocation of HBCDs, driven by water movement during transpiration. Sediment-root bioaccumulation factors and log TFs (stem to leaf) both showed no obvious correlation with log K_ow of HBCD diastereoisomers. These results reflected the complex behavior of HBCDs in mangrove plants, which have not been sufficiently captured in laboratory-based studies of plant contaminant accumulation.

Keywords: Bioaccumulation; Hexabromocyclododecanes; Mangrove plants; Tetrabromobisphenol A; Translocation.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

China
Flame Retardants / analysis
Hydrocarbons, Brominated / analysis
Hydrocarbons, Brominated / metabolism*
Plants / metabolism
Polybrominated Biphenyls / analysis
Polybrominated Biphenyls / metabolism*

Substances

Flame Retardants
Hydrocarbons, Brominated
Polybrominated Biphenyls
hexabromocyclododecane
tetrabromobisphenol A