Lead in the soil–mulberry (Morus alba L.)–silkworm (Bombyx mori) food chain: Translocation and detoxification

• Biomagnification of Pb in the soil–mulberry–silkworm system was not observed.
• Roots sequestered most of the Pb, most of the Pb in leaves bound to the cell wall.
• Excretion and homeostasis protect silkworms from Pb stress.
• Detoxification in mulberry–silkworm regulates Pb transfer along the food chain.
• Pb tolerance of mulberry and silkworm indicates the bioremediation potential.

The translocation of lead (Pb) in the soil–mulberry–silkworm food chain and the process of Pb detoxification in the mulberry–silkworm chain were investigated. The amount of Pb in mulberry, silkworm, feces and silk increased in a dose-responsive manner to the Pb contents in the soils. Mulberry roots sequestered most of the Pb, ranging from 230.78 to 1209.25 mg kg−1. Over 92% of the Pb in the mulberry leaves was deposited in the cell wall, and 95.29–95.57% of the Pb in the mulberry leaves was integrated with oxalic acid, pectates and protein, and it had low bioavailability. The Pb concentrations in the silkworm feces were 4.50–4.64 times higher than those in the leaves. The synthesis of metallothioneins in three tissues of the silkworms was induced to achieve Pb homeostasis under Pb stress. These results indicated the mechanism involved in Pb transfer along the food chain was controlled by the detoxification of Pb in different trophic levels. Planting mulberry and rearing silkworm could be a promising approach for the remediation of Pb-polluted soils due to the Pb tolerance of mulberry and silkworm.