Uptake and transport mechanisms of decabromodiphenyl ether (BDE-209) by rice (Oryza sativa)

The extensive industrial use of brominated flame retardants has aroused rapidly growing public concerns about their ubiquity in the environment. The feasibility of uptake and translocation of decabromodiphenyl ether (BDE-209) by three rice cultivars, namely Fengmeizhan, Hefengzhan and Guangyinzhan, and the uptake mechanisms of BDE-209 into rice roots, were investigated by employing a partition-limited model. Uptake of BDE-209 by the rice cultivars (Fengmeizhan, Hefengzhan and Guangyinzhan) was examined by a 60-day cultivation in sterilized BDE-209 spiked sand, followed by Soxhlet extraction and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) analysis. A partition-limited model was applied for estimating and describing the approach of the uptake of BDE-209 by rice in sand. The average quasi-equilibrium factor (α_pt) of BDE-209 in root uptake in sand was 0.112×10^-3 for three rice cultivars in the present study (<1), implying a non-equilibrium movement of molecules and a dominated passive transport uptake. According to the results of sorption analysis of dead and fresh roots, apoplastic pathway likely dominated the transport of BDE-209 into roots cells.