Data from: Rhenium uptake and distribution in phaeophyceae macroalgae, Fucus vesiculosus

Owing to Rhenium (Re) having no known biological role, it is not fully understood how Re is concentrated in oil kerogens. A commonly held assumption is that Re is incorporated into decomposing biomass under reducing conditions. However, living macroalgae also concentrate Re to several orders of magnitude greater than that of seawater. This study uses Fucus vesiculosus to assess Re uptake and its subsequent localization in the biomass. It is demonstrated that the Re abundance varies within the macroalgae and that Re is not located in one specific structure. In F. vesiculosus, the uptake and tolerance of Re was evaluated via tip cultures grown in seawater of different Re(VII) compound concentrations (0–7450 ng g−1). A positive correlation is shown between the concentration of Re-doped seawater and the abundance of Re accumulated in the tips. However, significant differences between Re(VII) compounds are observed. Although the specific cell structures where the Re is localized is not known, our findings suggest that Re is not held within chloroplasts or cytoplasmic proteins. In addition, metabolically inactivated F. vesiculosus does not accumulate Re, which indicates that Re uptake is via syn-life bioadsorption/bioaccumulation and that macroalgae may provide a source for Re phytomining and/or bioremediation.

铼（Rhenium, Re）目前已知无生物学功能，学界尚未完全明晰其在石油干酪根中的富集机制。主流假设认为，铼是在还原环境中被掺入正在分解的生物质内。但现存大型藻类对铼的富集程度可比海水高出数个数量级。本研究以墨角藻（Fucus vesiculosus）为对象，探究其对铼的吸收过程及铼在生物质内的后续分布定位。研究结果显示，大型藻类体内的铼丰度存在差异，且铼并非仅定位于某一类特定细胞结构中。针对墨角藻，本研究通过在不同浓度（0~7450 ng·g⁻¹）七价铼（Re(VII)）化合物海水培养基中培养藻尖端，评估其对铼的吸收能力与耐受性。实验结果表明，掺杂铼的海水浓度与藻尖端积累的铼丰度呈正相关关系。但不同种类的七价铼化合物之间，铼的富集效果存在显著差异。尽管目前尚未明确铼具体定位于哪种细胞结构，但本研究结果显示，铼并未富集于叶绿体或细胞质蛋白中。此外，代谢失活的墨角藻无法富集铼，这表明铼的吸收依赖于活体细胞的生物吸附/生物积累过程，同时也说明大型藻类可应用于铼的植物提取（phytomining）与/或生物修复（bioremediation）领域。