New insights into Hg[sbnd]Se antagonism: Minor impact on inorganic Hg mobility while potential impacts on microorganisms

Abstract

Selenium (Se) is a crucial antagonistic factor of mercury (Hg) methylation in soil, with the transformation of inorganic Hg (IHg) to inert mercury selenide (HgSe) being the key mechanism. However, little evidence has been provided of the reduced Hg mobility at environmentally relevant doses of Hg and Se, and the potential impacts of Se on the activities of microbial methylators have been largely ignored. This knowledge gap hinders effective mitigation for methylmercury (MeHg) risks, considering that Hg supply and microbial methylators serve as materials and workers for MeHg production in soils. By monitoring the mobility of IHg and microbial activities after Se spike, we reported that 1) active methylation might be the premise of HgSe antagonism, as higher decreases in MeHg net production were found in soils with higher constants of Hg methylation rate; 2) IHg mobility did not significantly change upon Se addition in soils with high DOC concentrations, challenging the long-held view of Hg immobilization by Se; and 3) the activities of iron-reducing bacteria (FeRB), an important group of microbial methylators, might be potentially regulated by Se addition at a dose of 4 mg/kg. These findings provide empirical evidence that IHg mobility may not be the limiting factor under Se amendment and suggest the potential impacts of Se on microbial activities.