Sulfur supply reduces cadmium uptake and translocation in rice grains (Oryza sativa L.) by enhancing iron plaque formation, cadmium chelation and vacuolar sequestration.

Sulfur (S) fertilizer application in rice (Oryza sativa L.) is crucial in determining rice grain productivity and quality. However, little information is available concerning the effect of S supply on cadmium (Cd) uptake and translocation in rice. In this study, both hydroponic and soil experiments were conducted to investigate the influence of S supply on Cd accumulation in rice under two Cd levels (0 and 50 µM), combined with three S concentrations (0, 2.64 and 5.28 mM). The moderate and excessive S supply (2.64 and 5.28 mM) tended to increase plant growth, root length, root and shoot dry weights of rice seedlings, and significantly decreased Cd concentrations in rice plants and grains in the absence or presence of Cd. The subcellular distribution and chemical forms of Cd in roots and shoots also varied with S supply levels. The decreased Cd uptake and translocation in rice grains could be ascribed to the enhanced formation of iron (Fe) plaque on the root surfaces and increased Cd chelation and vacuolar sequestration in roots, since Fe, Mn concentrations in Fe plaque, glutathione and phytochelatins contents, as well as phytochelatin synthase (OsPCS) and tonoplast heavy metal ATPase (OsHMA3) expressions in roots significantly increased with increased S supply. This work provides more insight into the mechanisms of Cd uptake and translocation in rice, and will be helpful for developing strategies to reduce rice grain Cd through S fertilizer application in Cd-contaminated soil.

Correction to: Analysis of bronopol (2-bromo-2-nitropropan-1,3-diol) residues in rice (Oryza sativa L.) by SPE using Bond Elut Plexa and liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry.

The authors would like to call the reader's attention to the fact that unfortunately during a recent cross-check of the experimental record, they found that the positions of intercept and slope were reversed in Table 1 in the original manuscript. The authors apologize for the mistake.

Analysis of bronopol (2-bromo-2-nitropropan-1, 3-diol) residues in rice (Oryza sativa L.) by SPE using Bond Elut Plexa and liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry.

A novel method has been developed for the direct, sensitive, and rapid detection of bronopol in rice using a simple solid-phase extraction (SPE) procedure followed by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS), with electrospray ionization (ESI). Bronopol was stable under acidic conditions, and an acidic environment was thus needed before sample loading to ensure the stability of bronopol. Rice extracts containing bronopol were pretreated using a hydrophilic-lipophilic balanced (Bond Elut Plexa) cartridge to reduce the matrix effect. An XDB-C18 column (150 mm × 2.1 mm, 3.5 µm) was used for chromatographic separations, with a mobile phase comprising methanol and aqueous ammonium formate (5 mM). The linearity of the method was satisfactory with regression coefficient (R 2) = 0.9992. The limit of quantification was 3.3 µg kg-1. Three spiked levels (25, 125 and 625 µg kg-1) were used to determine the recovery of bronopol, which was found to be 73.3-96.7%, with relative standard deviations (RSD) in the range 1.2-7.9%. The RSD for intra-day precision (n = 7) was 7.6% and the RSD for inter-day precision (n = 15) was 8.3%. The newly developed analytical method was successfully used to quantify bronopol in rice samples.

Separation of selenium species and their sensitive determination in rice samples by ion-pairing reversed-phase liquid chromatography with inductively coupled plasma tandem mass spectrometry.

A highly sensitive method was developed for the simultaneous separation and determination of organic and inorganic selenium species in rice by ion-pairing reversed-phase chromatography combined with inductively coupled plasma tandem mass spectrometry. To achieve a good separation of these species, a comparison between anion-exchange chromatography and ion-pairing reversed-phase chromatography was performed. The results indicated that ion-pairing reversed-phase chromatography was more suitable due to better separation and higher sensitivity for all analytes. In this case, a StableBond C18 column proved to be more robust or to have a better resolution than other C18 columns, when 0.5 mM tetrabutylammonium hydroxide and 10 mM ammonium acetate at pH 5.5 were used as the mobile phase. Moreover, an excellent sensitivity was obtained in terms of interferences by means of tandem mass spectrometry in the hydrogen mode. The detection limits were 0.02-0.12 µg/L, and recoveries of five selenium species were 75-114%, with relative standard deviations ≤ 9.4%. This method was successfully applied to the analysis of rice samples. Compared with previous studies, the proposed method not only gave comparable results when used for measuring selenium-enriched rice, but it can provide greater sensitivity for the detection of low concentrations of selenium species in rice.