Trace metals and selenium in organs and tissues of the striped field mice, Apodemus agratius, collected from Korea

한국산 등줄쥐 각 조직에 분포하는 미량금속류 및 셀레늄에 관한 연구

Nine trace metals (Zn, Fe, Al, Pb, Mn, Cu, Ni, Cr, and Cd) and Se concentrations were determined in organs and tissues(muscle, bone, kidney, liver and skin) of the striped field mice, Apodemus agrarius collected at Daejeo-dong, Pusan city and the Sorak Mt., Kangwon Province. All the trate elements were detected from all the mice examined. As for the metal concentrations in the mice from Daejeo-dong, Zn, Fe, Al, Mn, Ni and Cr were significantly higher than those in Sorak Mt.(p<0.05), suggesting that pesticides including Zn and factory wastes containing several metals might contaminated the environment of Daejeo-dong. As regards the element concentrations in each organ and tissue, Fe, Al, Pb, Mn, Cu, Cr and Cd concentrations were high in liver or kidney; Zn in skin and bone; Ni in bone, skin and kidney; and Se in muscle, liver and skin in all the mice examined. There were significant differences(p<0.05) between juveniles and adults in average concentration of metals(Zn, Fe, Pb, Mn, Ni, and Cd) in every organs and tissues of mice collected at Daejeo-dong. Much higher average levels of metals in juveniles indicate that considerable burdens fo metals might be transferred through the placenta. However, there were no significant differences between males and females, and between young and old adults in average metal concentrations, which suggests that the mice might accumulate the metals during their life time, although they might excrete the metals not only through reproductive activities, such as parturition, lactation and ejaculation of semen, but also through molting, judging from higher accumulating ratios of most metals in skin of adults than of juveniles.