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Using solid 13C NMR coupled with solution 31P NMR spectroscopy to investigate molecular species and lability of organic carbon and phosphorus from aquatic plants in Tai Lake, China

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Abstract

Forms and labilities of plant-derived organic matters (OMs) including carbon (C) and phosphorus (P) were fundamental for understanding their release, degradation and environmental behaviour in lake ecosystems. Thus, solid 13C and solution 31P nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy were used to characterize biomass of six aquatic plants in Tai Lake, China. The results showed that carbohydrates (61.2% of the total C) were predominant C functional group in the solid 13C NMR spectra of plant biomass, which may indicate high lability and bioavailability of aquatic plants-derived organic matter in lakes. There was 72.6–103.7% of the total P in aquatic plant biomass extracted by NaOH–EDTA extracts. Solution 31P NMR analysis of these NaOH–EDTA extracts further identified several molecular species of P including orthophosphate (50.1%), orthophosphate monoesters (46.8%), DNA (1.6%) and pyrophosphate (1.4%). Orthophosphate monoesters included β-glycerophosphate (17.7%), hydrolysis products of RNA (11.7%), α-glycerophosphate (9.2%) and other unknown monoesters (2.1%). Additionally, phytate, the major form of organic P in many lake sediments, was detected in floating plant water poppy. These inorganic P (e.g. orthophosphate and pyrophosphate) and organic P (e.g. diester and its degradation products) identified in plant biomass were all labile and bioavailable P, which would play an important role in recycling of P in lakes. These results increased knowledge of chemical composition and bioavailability of OMs derived from aquatic plants in lakes.

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Acknowledgments

The work was funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 41403094, 41130743 and 41261140337).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Water Sciences, Bei**g Normal University, Bei**g, 100875, China

    Shasha Liu, Hao Wang & Wen**g Guo

  2. State Key Laboratory of Environment Criteria and Risk Assessment, Chinese Research Academy of Environmental Sciences, Bei**g, 100012, China

    Shasha Liu, Yuanrong Zhu, Fengchang Wu, Wei Meng, Hao Wang, Wen**g Guo, Fanhao Song & John P. Giesy

  3. USDA-ARS Southern Regional Research Center, 1100 Robert E Lee Blvd, New Orleans, LA, 70124, USA

    Zhongqi He

  4. Department of Biomedical and Veterinary Biosciences and Toxicology Centre, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada

    John P. Giesy

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  1. Shasha Liu
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  2. Yuanrong Zhu
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  4. Wei Meng
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Corresponding authors

Correspondence to Yuanrong Zhu or Fengchang Wu.

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Responsible editor: Philippe Garrigues

Highlights

1. C and P in aquatic plants were characterized by solid 13C and solution 31P NMR.

2. Labile carbohydrates were predominant OM in debris derived from aquatic plants.

3. Orthophosphate and labile monoesters were dominant species of P in aquatic plants.

4. Phytate was identified to be a significant composition in a floating plant.

5. Macrophyte-derived OMs were important sources for bioavailable nutrients in lakes.

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Liu, S., Zhu, Y., Wu, F. et al. Using solid 13C NMR coupled with solution 31P NMR spectroscopy to investigate molecular species and lability of organic carbon and phosphorus from aquatic plants in Tai Lake, China. Environ Sci Pollut Res 24, 1880–1889 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-016-7954-9

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