Comparative Bioaccumulation of Mineral Elements in Soft Tissues, Shells, and Pearls of Sinohyriopsis cumingii (Lea, 1852) Cultured for Non-Nucleated, Visceral Mass-Nucleated, and Mantle-Nucleated Pearls.
5 affiliations
- 1Wuxi Fisheries College, Nanjing Agricultural University, Wuxi 214081, China.
- 2Ministry of Fisheries and Marine Resources, Freetown 190, Sierra Leone.
- 3College of Marine Science and Technology and Environment, Dalian Ocean University, Dalian 116023, China.
- 4Jilin Provincial Academy of Fishery Sciences, Changchun 130033, China.
- 5Freshwater Fisheries Research Center, Chinese Academy of Fishery Sciences, Wuxi 214081, China.
Abstract
The triangle sail mussel Sinohyriopsis cumingii (Lea, 1852) is the world's leading producer of freshwater pearls. Mineral elements are key components of pearls and affect pearl quality, but their bioaccumulation patterns in the soft tissues, shells, and pearls of this species remain unclear. Inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry was used to compare the bioaccumulation of essential major elements (Na, Mg, K, Ca), essential trace elements (Cr, Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, Cu, Zn, Se, Mo), and non-essential elements (Al, As, Sr, Ag, Cd, Ba, Tl, Pb) in the soft tissues, shells, and pearls of S. cumingii cultured for non-nucleated, visceral mass-nucleated, and mantle-nucleated pearls. Mg, K, Mn, Zn, and Ba were significantly more concentrated in soft tissues than in shells or pearls, whereas Ca and Sr showed the opposite trend (p < 0.05). Principal component analysis based on Zn, Ca, Mg, Sr, and Mn separated soft tissues from shells and pearls, while a second component based on Mo, Fe, Co, and Ni distinguished non-nucleated from visceral mass-nucleated and mantle-nucleated pearl mussels. Ca-Sr and Sr-Ba were consistently positively correlated in soft tissues across all three culture types (p < 0.05). Notably, Na was frequently involved in negative correlations between tissues: in mussels cultured for non-nucleated pearls, shell Na was negatively correlated with soft tissue K and pearl Na with soft tissue Ba (p < 0.05); in those cultured for visceral mass-nucleated pearls, soft tissue Na was negatively correlated with pearl Mn and Zn (p < 0.05); and in those cultured for mantle-nucleated pearls, pearl Na was negatively correlated with shell Zn (p < 0.05). Collectively, these findings elucidate mineral element bioaccumulation in pearl-producing S. cumingii.
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BibTeX
@article{bah2026comparative,
title = {{Comparative Bioaccumulation of Mineral Elements in Soft Tissues, Shells, and Pearls of Sinohyriopsis cumingii (Lea, 1852) Cultured for Non-Nucleated, Visceral Mass-Nucleated, and Mantle-Nucleated Pearls.}},
author = {Ibrahim Bah and Mengying Gu and Meiyi Wang and Haibo Li and Haibo Wen and Junren Xue and Xiubao Chen},
journal = {Animals : an open access journal from MDPI},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.3390/ani16203231},
url = {https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42939162},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Comparative Bioaccumulation of Mineral Elements in Soft Tissues, Shells, and Pearls of Sinohyriopsis cumingii (Lea, 1852) Cultured for Non-Nucleated, Visceral Mass-Nucleated, and Mantle-Nucleated Pearls.
AU - Ibrahim Bah
AU - Mengying Gu
AU - Meiyi Wang
AU - Haibo Li
AU - Haibo Wen
AU - Junren Xue
AU - Xiubao Chen
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/14
JO - Animals : an open access journal from MDPI
DO - 10.3390/ani16203231
UR - https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42939162
AB - The triangle sail mussel Sinohyriopsis cumingii (Lea, 1852) is the world's leading producer of freshwater pearls. Mineral elements are key components of pearls and affect pearl quality, but their bioaccumulation patterns in the soft tissues, shells, and pearls of this species remain unclear. Inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry was used to compare the bioaccumulation of essential major elements (Na, Mg, K, Ca), essential trace elements (Cr, Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, Cu, Zn, Se, Mo), and non-essential elements (Al, As, Sr, Ag, Cd, Ba, Tl, Pb) in the soft tissues, shells, and pearls of S. cumingii cultured for non-nucleated, visceral mass-nucleated, and mantle-nucleated pearls. Mg, K, Mn, Zn, and Ba were significantly more concentrated in soft tissues than in shells or pearls, whereas Ca and Sr showed the opposite trend (p < 0.05). Principal component analysis based on Zn, Ca, Mg, Sr, and Mn separated soft tissues from shells and pearls, while a second component based on Mo, Fe, Co, and Ni distinguished non-nucleated from visceral mass-nucleated and mantle-nucleated pearl mussels. Ca-Sr and Sr-Ba were consistently positively correlated in soft tissues across all three culture types (p < 0.05). Notably, Na was frequently involved in negative correlations between tissues: in mussels cultured for non-nucleated pearls, shell Na was negatively correlated with soft tissue K and pearl Na with soft tissue Ba (p < 0.05); in those cultured for visceral mass-nucleated pearls, soft tissue Na was negatively correlated with pearl Mn and Zn (p < 0.05); and in those cultured for mantle-nucleated pearls, pearl Na was negatively correlated with shell Zn (p < 0.05). Collectively, these findings elucidate mineral element bioaccumulation in pearl-producing S. cumingii.
SN - 2076-2615
ER -