Reducing total mercury and methylmercury accumulation in rice grains through water management and deliberate selection of rice cultivars

Xiaoyan Peng; Fengjie Liu; Wen-Xiong Wang; Zhihong Ye

doi:10.1016/j.envpol.2011.11.024

Author(s)

Xiaoyan Peng
Fengjie Liu
Wen-Xiong Wang
Zhihong Ye

Detail(s)

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	202-208
Journal / Publication	Environmental Pollution
Volume	162
Online published	11 Dec 2011
Publication status	Published - Mar 2012
Externally published	Yes

Link(s)

DOI	DOI https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envpol.2011.11.024 Final Published version
	Check@CityULib
Link to Scopus	https://www.scopus.com/record/display.uri?eid=2-s2.0-83055192102&origin=recordpage
Permanent Link	https://scholars.cityu.edu.hk/en/publications/publication(720b4295-4991-4489-8372-095baa88f646).html

Abstract

Rice consumption has been identified as a major route of methylmercury (MeHg) exposure in some areas of inland China. We investigated two potential mitigation methods (water management and deliberate selection of rice cultivars) to reduce the amount of total mercury (Hg) and MeHg within the grain. Rice grown aerobically had markedly reduced total Hg and MeHg concentrations as well as a much lower proportion of MeHg in the grain. Remarkably, there were considerable variations in the total Hg and MeHg concentrations as well as the proportion of MeHg in the grain among the 24 cultivars grown in the same paddy soil. The Hg tolerance index (expressed as % mean of control root growth) also varied substantially among the different cultivars. Furthermore, negative correlations were found between the total Hg and MeHg concentrations (P < 0.05) of grain and the proportion of MeHg in the grain (P < 0.01). © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.