Abstract
The impact of sub-lethal concentrations (0.05, 0.5, 5 μmol L−1) of the heavy metals copper (Cu), chromium (Cr), zinc (Zn), cadmium (Cd) and lead (Pb) on the growth and photosynthesis of Chlorella vulgaris was studied during 96 h exposure experiments. The results showed that the effects of these five metals on the growth of Chlorella vulgaris were dependent on both concentration and exposure time. It was found that 5 μmol L−1 treatments of Cu, Cr, Zn, Cd and Pb significantly inhibited the growth of Chlorella vulgaris, and the effect became weaker with an increase in exposure duration. Different effects on chlorophyll fluorescence were found for different metals, with Cu and Cr having an inhibiting effect and Zn and Cd having a promoting effect. The effects of heavy metals upon the growth and photosynthesis of Chlorella vulgaris were independent of each other and not causally related.
Article PDF
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Burda K, Kruk J, Schmid G H, et al. Inhibition of oxygen evolution in photosystem II by Cu(II) ions is associated with oxidation of cytochrome b559. Biochem J, 2003, 371: 597–601
Andrade L R, Farina M, Filho G M A. Effects of copper on Enteromorpha flexuosa (Chlorophyta) in vitro. Ecotoxicol Environ Saf, 2004, 58: 117–125
Clemens S. Molecular mechanisms of plant metal tolerance and homeostasis. Planta, 2001, 212: 475–486
Vignati D A L, Dominik J, Beye M L, et al. Chromium (VI) is more toxic than chromium (III) to freshwater algae: A paradigm to revise?. Ecotoxicol Environ Saf, 2010, 73: 743–749
Qian H F, Li J J, Sun L W, et al. Combined effect of copper and cadmium on Chlorella vulgaris growth and photosynthesis-related gene transcription. Aquat Toxicol, 2009, 94: 56–61
Sandalio L M, Dalurzo H C, Gómez M, et al. Cadmium-induced changes in the growth and oxidative metabolism of pea plants. J Exp Bot, 2001, 52: 2115–2126
Pawlik-Skowroska B. Correlations between toxic Pb effects and production of Pb-induced thiol peptides in the microalga Stichococcus bacillaris. Environ Pollut, 2002, 119: 119–127
Chen L, Zheng Q S, Liu Z P, et al. Effects of different concentrations of copper ion on the growth and chlorophyll fluorescence characteristics of Scendesmus obliquus L. Ecol Environ Sci, 2009, 18: 1231–1235
Ismail M, Phang S M, Tong S L, et al. A modified toxicity testing method using tropical marine microalgae. Environ Monit Assess, 2002, 75: 145–154
Baumann H A, Morrison L, Stengel D B. Metal accumulation and toxicity measured by PAM-chlorophyll fluorescence in seven species of marine macroalgae. Ecotoxicol Environ Saf, 2009, 72: 1063–1075
Franklin N M, Stauber J L, Lim R P, et al. Toxicity of metal mixtures to a tropical freshwater alga (chlorella sp.): The effect of interactions between copper, cadmium, and zinc on metal cell binding and uptake. Environ Toxicol Chem, 2002, 21: 2412–2422
Liang Y, Wang S, Feng L X, et al. Effects of heavy metals stress on growth and chlorophyll fluorescence of Phaeodactylum tricornutum. Mar Environ Sci, 2009, 28: 374–382
Perales-Vela H V, González-Moreno S, Montes-Horcasitas C, et al. Growth, photosynthetic and respiratory responses to sub-lethal copper concentrations in Scenedesmus incrassatulus (Chlorophyceae). Chemosphere, 2007, 67: 2274–2281
Hagemeyer J. Ecophysiology of plant growth under heavy metal stress. In: Prasad M N V, Hagemeyer J, eds. Heavy Metal Stress in Plants. Berlin: Springer, 1999. 157–181
Vassilev A, Lidon F, Campos P S, et al. Cu-induced changes in chloroplast lipids and photosystem II activity in barley plants. Bulg J Plant Physiol, 2003, 29: 33–43
Pätsikkä E, Aro E M, Tyystjärvi E. Mechanism of copper-enhanced photoinhibition in thylakoid membranes. Physiol Plant, 2001, 113: 142–150
Andrade L R, Leal R N, Noseda M, et al. Brown algae overproduce cell wall polysaccharides as a protection mechanism against the heavy metal toxicity. Mar Pollut Bull, 2010, 60: 1482–1488
Nielsen H D, Nielsen S L. Photosynthetic responses to Cu2+ exposure are independent of light acclimation and uncoupled from growth inhibition in Fucus serratus (Phaeophyceae). Mar Pollut Bull, 2005, 51: 715–721
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
This article is published with open access at Springerlink.com
Rights and permissions
This article is published under an open access license. Please check the 'Copyright Information' section either on this page or in the PDF for details of this license and what re-use is permitted. If your intended use exceeds what is permitted by the license or if you are unable to locate the licence and re-use information, please contact the Rights and Permissions team.
About this article
Cite this article
Ouyang, H., Kong, X., He, W. et al. Effects of five heavy metals at sub-lethal concentrations on the growth and photosynthesis of Chlorella vulgaris . Chin. Sci. Bull. 57, 3363–3370 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11434-012-5366-x
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11434-012-5366-x