Metallic and metalloid elements in various developmental stages of Amanita muscaria (L.) Lam

There is growing evidence that mushrooms (fruiting bodies) can be suitable for biogeochemical prospecting for minerals and as indicators of heavy metal and radioactive contaminants in the terrestrial environment. Apart from the nutritional aspect, knowledge of accumulation dynamics and distribution of elements in fruiting bodies, from emergence to senescence, is essential as is standardization when choosing mushroom species as potential bioindicators and for monitoring purposes. We studied the effect of fruitbody developmental stage on the contents of the elements (Li, K, V, Cr, Mn, Mg, Co, Ni, Cu, Zn, As, Rb, Sr, Ag, Al, Cd, Sb, Cs, Ba, Pb, Tl and U) in the individual parts of the Amanita muscaria fruiting body. Elements such as K, Mg, Mn, Ni, Co, Cu, Zn and Se remained similar throughout all developmental stages studied, however for K, differences occurred in the values of caps and stipes, as expressed by the cap to stipe concentration quotient (index Q_C/S). The other elements quantified, i.e., Li, V, Cr, As, Rb, Sr, Ag, Al, Cd, Sb, Cs, Ba, Pb, Tl and U are considered as nonessential or toxic (with the exception of V in A. muscaria). Their accumulation in the fruiting bodies and their distribution between cap and stipe did not show a uniform pattern. Pb, Sb, Tl, Ba, Sr, Li, Rb and Cs decreased with increasing maturity of the fruitbodies, implying that translocation, distribution and accumulation in stipes and caps was not a continuous process, while V, Cr, As, Ag, Cd, and U remained at the same concentration, similarly to the essential elements. Our results for A. muscaria confirm that elemental distribution in different parts of fruiting bodies is variable for each element and may change during maturation. Soil properties, species specificity and the pattern of fruitbody development may all contribute to the various types of elemental distribution and suggest that the results for one species in one location may have only limited potential for generalization.