Ostroumov(2)BIOSPHERE.BIOMEMBRANE OR

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The biosphere is probably the thinnest among all other 'spheres' except perhaps the ... chemical species (this list is not complete; some items on the list overlap with .... Korzh V.D. Geochemistry of the elemental composition of the hydrosphere.
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BIOSPHERE: BIOMEMBRANE OR BIOMATRIX? https://www.researchgate.net/publication/301342497 Article · January 2010

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UDK 550.4.574 BIOSPHERE: BIOMEMBRANE OR BIOMATRIX? S.A.Ostroumov

Faculty of Biology, Moscow State University, Moscow, Russian Federation …whilst the great ocean of truth lay all undiscovered before me. Isaac Newton (1642-1727)

Key words: biosphere, V.I. Vernadsky, fundamental concepts and principles, migration of elements, immobilization, living matter, biogenic matter, components of the biosphere, chemicobiotic interactions The fundamental concept of the biosphere was a central focus of attention of the classical works by V.I. Vernadsky [1, 2 ]. Many authors contributed to the studies of the biosphere [3-12]. The goal of this publication is to comment on some basic fundamental concepts and principles that are relevant to modern understanding of what is the biosphere. Traditionally, the biosphere is considered as one of “spheres’ around the globe. Some time ago, a number of scientific terms were coined: lithosphere, hydrosphere, atmosphere, and biosphere. Among them, the entity that corresponds to the concept and term ‘biosphere’ features some unique qualities: (1) The biosphere is probably the thinnest among all other ‘spheres’ except perhaps the hydrosphere. As a result, the biosphere could be considered as a thin skin or film or membrane that surrounds the hard surface of the globe. (2) The biosphere is probably the most vague entity among the other ‘spheres’ in terms of where its limits or boundaries are. There are various views on that what exactly is included into the biosphere, what exactly should be considered as components (parts, constituents) of the biosphere. In the narrow sense (sensu stricto), it includes living organisms. In the broader sense (sensu lato), it includes both living organisms and the matter that was produced or transformed by living organisms. In that latter case – if that latter broader approach is applied – the biosphere includes all types of detritus, excretions, and all type of former living matter. In latter case, in aquatic ecosystems a significant part of bottom sediments is definitely a part of the biosphere. All organic matter of the bottom sediments and soils should be considered a part of the biosphere. Our recent studies provided new facts on the high ability of living organisms and the matter produced by them (e.g., detritus) to accumulate, absorb, and immobilize some chemical elements that initially were added to the system in the form of salts dissolved in water. To be more specific, it was shown in our experiments with aquatic microcosms. Several metals as a water solution of salts were added to the water of those microcosms [13, 14, 16, 18, 19]. The microcosms contained living organisms (including macrophytes and mollusks), and some materials of biogenic origin – detritus and others. We demonstrated an efficient binding and association of several metals with the biogenic material. As was mentioned above, the metals were added to water as solutions of salts. Moreover, we demonstrated efficient association with aquatic organisms (exemplified by plants) of a metal that was added to the water of a microcosm in the form of nanoparticles. It is noteworthy that several aspects of interaction of biomass and biogenic matter with chemical species are highly relevant to our analysis: immobilization of chemical species; adsorption of the chemical species; uptake of chemical species; influencing the trajectory of movement of chemical species; acceleration or slowing down the movement of chemical species along their trajectories; transformation of the chemical species (this list is not complete; some items on the list overlap with each other). All in all, our new data and a vast amount of data in the current literature show that living organisms and the matter that is being produced by them serve as an efficient matrix which binds and immobilize a broad range of chemical species from the aquatic medium. By the same token, organisms and biogenic material can bind some molecules and particles from the surrounding air. On that basis, the view is justified according to which the total sum of components of the biosphere

serve a kind of matrix to bind chemical components and particles from water and air. As this matrix is represented by organisms (the biota) and biogenic matter, it is logical to call it ‘biomatrix’. Also, a slightly extended interpretation could be given to the term ‘biomatrix’. Many studies have shown the existence and vital role of a variety of physical fields generated by organisms. Those fields include electromagnetic, acoustic, infrared, optical (the visible range of wavelengths) ones (Acad. Yu.V. Gulyaev is among those who studied them in detail and made many measurements). Moreover, the physical space between organisms contains also an immense number of infochemicals and other molecules of biogenic origin that carry information and produce a broad range of effects on the organisms receiving them (Ostroumov, 1986) [17] . All those factors are in accord with the vision of the surrounding of the organisms – the surrounding that is essentially packed with the matter and physical fields, - both of which may produce some profound effects on the organisms - rather as a matrix than just as ‘a space’. The answer to the question posed in the title of this publication – the biomembrane or biomatrix? is dualistic: both the biomembrane and biomatrix. Table 1. Some examples of binding / immobilizations of elements by biogenic and biological objects Biogenic material or organism The biogenic detritus produced by Viviparus viviparus and Ceratophyllum demersum

Marine detritus produced by Mytilus galloprovincialis

Freshwater macrophyte

Elements La, Ce, Cr and Co. The experiments were run in laboratory microcosms. The microcosms contained two species of common aquatic organisms, V. viviparus and C. demersum. As a result, it was discovered that after adding the mix of salts, there is an increase in the concentration of La, Ce, Cr and Co in the detritus. It is the first experimental evidence that adding chemical elements to water leads to an increase of their concentration in the biogenic detritus As, Со, Fe, Mn, Zn, Cu, Cd, Cr

Au (added as nanoparticles)

Refs Ostroumov S.A., Kolesov G.M., Kotelevtsev S.V., Moiseeva Yu. A., Kazakov G. Yu. Studing components of aquatic microcosms using neutron activation analysis: deposition of La, Ce, Cr and Co in the biogenic detritus after adding to water the mix of salts. - Water: Technology and Ecology (Вода: технология и экология). 2009. No. 4. p. 60–68.

Ostroumov S.A., Demina L.L. Ecological biogeochemistry and chemical elements (As, Со, Fe, Mn, Zn, Cu, Cd, Cr) in biogenic detritus in marine model ecosystem: measuring by the method of atomic absorption spectroscopy (AAS) // Ecological Systems and Devices (= Ekologich. sistemy i pribory). 2009. No. 9, p. 42-45. Ostroumov S.A., Kolesov G.M., Poklonov V.A., Kotelevtsev S.V. Water macrophyte as a factor of potential concentration: interactions with metal nanoparticles. - Ecological Chemistry (Экологическая химия).2009,18(4): 222-228

References

1.Vernadsky V.I., Khimicheskoe stroenie biosfery Zemli i ee okruzheniya (Chemical Structure of the Earth’s Biosphere and Its Environment), Moscow: Nauka, 1965. 2.Vernadsky V.I. The Biosphere. Moscow. Publishing House 'Noosphere'. 2001. 244 p. 3. Dobrovolsky G.V. About development of some concepts of the teaching on the biosphere (the

80th anniversary of the publication of the book 'Biosphere' by V.I.Vernadsky). — Water: Technology and Ecology. 2007. No. 1, p. 63-68. [Citing the concepts and terms: ecological chemoregulators, ecological chemomediators, the biosphere as ecological-biochemical continuum; types of migration of the matter in the biosphere, including the stochastic, vectorial, cyclic, and acyclic types of migration]. 4. Dobrovolsky G.V. On the 80th anniversary of the book 'The Biosphere' by V.I.Vernadsky. Developing some important parts of the teaching on the biosphere. – Ecological Chemistry (Ekologicheskaya Khimiya). 2007, v.16(3), p.135–143. 5. Kapitsa A.P. Formulation of fundamental principles for foundation of the theory of the apparatus of the biosphere // Environment Ecology and Safety of Life Activity. 2007. No. 1 (37). P. 68–71. 6. Kapitsa A.P. Establishing the fundamental principles for the theory of the apparatus of the biosphere. – Problems of Biogeochemistry and Geochemical Ecology. 2007, No. 2 (4), 1-4. 7. Vinоgrаdоv A. P. The elementary chemical composition of marine organisms, New Haven, 1953. 8. Ermakov V.V., Tyutikov S.F. Geochemical ecology of animals. (Геохимическая экология животных) M.: Nauka, 2008. 315 p. 9. Ivanter E.V., Medvedev N.V. Environmental Toxicology of the natural populations of birds and mammals of the North (Экологическая токсикология природных популяций птиц и млекопитающих Севера), Moscow, Nauka. 2007. 229 p. 10. Korzh V.D. Geochemistry of the elemental composition of the hydrosphere. (Геохимия элементного состава гидросферы). M., 1991, 244 pp. 11. Kuznetsov A.P., Demina L.L., Shmelev I.P. On the environmentally differentiated approach to the study of bioaccumulation of chemical elements and compounds in marine organisms (Кузнецов А.П., Демина Л.Л., Шмелев И.П. Об экологически дифференцированном подходе к изучению бионакопления химических элементов и соединений в морских организмах) // Doklady RAN. 1992. V. 325. No. 6. P. 1336-1338. 12. Moiseenko T.I., Kudrjavtseva L.P., Gashkina N.A. Trace elements in water: technophility, bioaccumulation and ecotoxicology. M.: Nauka, 2006. 260 p. 13. Ostroumov S.A., Kolesov G.M., Kotelevtsev S.V., Moiseeva Yu. A., Kazakov G. Yu. Studing components of aquatic microcosms using neutron activation analysis: deposition of La, Ce, Cr and Co in the biogenic detritus after adding to water the mix of salts. - Water: Technology and Ecology (Вода: технология и экология). 2009. No. 4. p. 60–68. 14. Ostroumov S.A., Demina L.L. Ecological biogeochemistry and chemical elements (As, Со, Fe, Mn, Zn, Cu, Cd, Cr) in biogenic detritus in marine model ecosystem: measuring by the method of atomic absorption spectroscopy (AAS) // Ecological Systems and Devices (= Ekologicheskie sistemy i pribory). 2009. No. 9, p. 42-45. 15. Ostroumov S.A., Kolesov G.M. Detection of gold, uranium, and other elements in ecosystem’s components using the method of neutron activation analysis. - Ecological system and devices (Ehkologicheskie sistemy i pribory = E'kologicheskie sistemy i pribory). 2009. No. 10. p. 37-40. 16. Ostroumov S.A., Kolesov G.M., Poklonov V.A., Kotelevtsev S.V. Water macrophyte as a factor of potential concentration: interactions with metal nanoparticles. - Ecological Chemistry (Экологическая химия). 2009, 18(4): 222-228. 17. Ostroumov S.A. Introduction to Biochemical Ecology. 1986. Moscow. Moscow University Press. 176 p. 18. Остроумов С.А. Изучение толерантности моллюсков в условиях полиметаллического загрязнения воды и длительной инкубации // Проблемы экологии и гидробиологии. 2008. М.: МАКС Пресс. С. 44–46. 19. http://scipeople.com/group/331/topic/1704/ (detection and accumulation of chemical elements in organisms – references to recent publications).

Published in: Ostroumov S.A., Kotelevtsev S.V., Toderas I.K., Gorshkova O.M. (Eds.) Ecological Studies, Hazards, Solutions, 2010, vol.15, p.14-16.

The full reference: Ostroumov S.A. BIOSPHERE: BIOMEMBRANE OR BIOMATRIX? In: Ostroumov S.A., Kotelevtsev S.V., Toderas I.K., Gorshkova O.M. (Eds.) Ecological Studies, Hazards, Solutions, 2010, vol.15, p.14-16. Another version of the full reference: Ostroumov S.A. BIOSPHERE: BIOMEMBRANE OR BIOMATRIX? // Ecological Studies, Hazards, Solutions, 2010, vol.15, p.14-16.