Risk assessment on irrigation of Vitis vinifera L. cv Malbec with Hg contaminated waters

Concerns regard watering crops with Hg contaminated waters have arisen worldwide recently. In these sense Hg uptake by Vitis vinifera L. cv. Malbec was evaluated under greenhouse conditions by the administration of Hg(2+) for 4 days through irrigation water (short-term administration). Vines uptake Hg translocating it from roots through stems to leaves. Roots accumulated the higher Hg concentration. Hg in stems and leaves was accumulated mostly as organic Hg, bind to different moieties. Size exclusion chromatography (SEC) and ion pair chromatography (IPC) were employed to reach insights into these ligands. Hg is distributed mainly in high molecular weight fractions of 669 kDa in vine plants. In stems and leaves, Hg-S associations were found in 669 and 66 kDa fractions. Hg-S association at 66 kDa suggests a possible protein or peptide binding affecting vines normal physiology. Since Hg contamination through organomercurials is more harmful than Hg(2+) itself, methyl mercury, dimethyl mercury, and phenyl mercury, more toxic Hg species were evaluated with negative results.