•There are changes in physical and chemical properties in the aging of microplastics.•Aged microplastics pose a stronger inhibition on the growth of microalgae than that of virgin ...microplastics.•single microplastics and copper significantly inhibit the growth of microalgae and cause serious oxidative stress.•The interaction of microplastics and copper alleviates the negative effect of single microplastics and copper to microalgae.
Microplastics (MPs) could pose potential risks to microalgae, the primary producer of marine ecosystems. Currently, few studies focus on the interaction of aged MPs with other pollutants and their toxic effects to microalgae. Therefore, the present study aimed to investigate i) the aging of microplastics polyvinyl chloride (mPVC) in simulated seawater and the changes in physical and chemical properties; ii) the effects of single mPVC (virgin and aged) and copper on microalgae Chlorella vulgaris; and iii) the interaction of aged mPVC and copper and the oxidative stress towards C. vulgaris. In this study, some wrinkles, rough and fractured surface textures can be observed on the aged mPVC, accompanying with increased hydroxyl groups and aromatic carbon-carbon double bond but decreased carbon hydrogen bond. It was found that single virgin or aged mPVC at low concentration (10 mg/L) had significant inhibition on the growth of C. vulgaris but no inhibition at higher concentration (100, 1,000 mg/L), which can be reasonably explained by the aggregation and precipitation of mPVC at high concentration. The aging of mPVC inhibited the growth of C. vulgaris with the maximum growth inhibition ratio (IR) of 35.26% as compared with that of virgin mPVC (IR = 28.5%). However, the single copper could significantly inhibit the growth of C. vulgaris and the inhibitory effects increased with concentration (0.2, 0.5, 1.0 mg/L). Furthermore, both the single aged mPVC (10 mg/L) and copper (0.5 mg/L) caused serious cell damage, although the concentration of superoxide dismutase (SOD) and the intracellular malonaldehyde (MDA) increased. In contrast to single treatment, the growth of C. vulgaris can be enhanced by the combined group with copper (0.5 mg/L) and aged mPVC (10 mg/L).
Schematic diagram of MDZ removal in Chlorella vulgaris culture.
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•Metronidazole is efficiently removed during algal treatment.•Metronidazole is removed via sorption onto the ...biomass.•Metronidazole showed toxicity to C. vulgaris at stationary phase of life cycle.•The removal efficiency of C. vulgaris decreased with increase of antibiotic.
This current study investigated the removal of metronidazole from aqueous media by C. vulgaris. Two different initial sizes of inoculum (0.05 and 0.5 g L−1) were tested for a wide concentration range of metronidazole (1–50 μM). The effect of metronidazole concentrations on biomass production was studied for 20 days. The exopolymeric substances (EPS) were quantified and correlated with the removal of antibiotics from aqueous media. Specifically, MDZ stimulated the production of EPS in C. vulgaris, which played the major role in the adsorption of this antibiotic. Also, metronidazole significantly influenced the zeta potential of C. vulgaris in the test cultures, indicating a change in surface characteristics. This decrease in surface negative charge caused auto-flocculation phenomena at a stationary phase. Chronic and acute toxicity experiments showed that metronidazole was harmful to C. vulgaris at stationary phase. Results from this study would advance our knowledge on the treatment of metronidazole-contaminated waters with C. vulgaris as a green technology-oriented process.
► Cheese whey was used as carbon source for Chlorella vulgaris growth. ► Mixotrophic microalgae grew faster than photoautotrophic cells. ► Maximum starch productivity was achieved under mixotrophic ...conditions. ► Highest pigment content (0.74%) was obtained in the photoautotrophic culture.
Growth parameters and biochemical composition of the green microalga Chlorella vulgaris cultivated under different mixotrophic conditions were determined and compared to those obtained from a photoautotrophic control culture. Mixotrophic microalgae showed higher specific growth rate, final biomass concentration and productivities of lipids, starch and proteins than microalgae cultivated under photoautotrophic conditions. Moreover, supplementation of the inorganic culture medium with hydrolyzed cheese whey powder solution led to a significant improvement in microalgal biomass production and carbohydrate utilization when compared with the culture enriched with a mixture of pure glucose and galactose, due to the presence of growth promoting nutrients in cheese whey. Mixotrophic cultivation of C. vulgaris using the main dairy industry by-product could be considered a feasible alternative to reduce the costs of microalgal biomass production, since it does not require the addition of expensive carbohydrates to the culture medium.
The economic feasibility of algal mass culture for biodiesel production is enhanced by the increase in biomass productivity and storage lipids. Effect of iron on growth and lipid accumulation in ...marine microalgae
Chlorella vulgaris were investigated. In experiment I, supplementing the growth media with chelated FeCl
3 in the late growth phase increased the final cell density but did not induce lipid accumulation in cells. In experiment II, cells in the late-exponential growth phase were collected by centrifugation and re-inoculated into new media supplemented with five levels of Fe
3+ concentration. Total lipid content in cultures supplemented with 1.2
×
10
−5
mol
L
−1 FeCl
3 was up to 56.6% biomass by dry weight and was 3–7-fold that in other media supplemented with lower iron concentration. Moreover, a simple and rapid method determining the lipid accumulation in
C. vulgaris with spectrofluorimetry was developed.
► An indigenous C. vulgaris FSP-E isolate exhibits high potential as sugar producer. ► Microalgal growth is improved by properly adjusting light intensity and inoculum size. ► Nitrogen starvation is ...very effective in promoting carbohydrate accumulation. ► The carbohydrate profile of the microalga is suitable for bioethanol fermentation.
In this study, three indigenous microalgae isolates were examined for their ability to produce carbohydrates. Among them, Chlorella vulgaris FSP-E displayed relatively high cell growth rate and carbohydrate content. The carbohydrate productivity of C. vulgaris FSP-E was further improved by using engineering strategies. The results show that using an appropriate light intensity and inoculum size could effectively promote cell growth and carbohydrate productivity. Nitrogen starvation triggered the accumulation of carbohydrates in the microalga, achieving a carbohydrate content of 51.3% after 4-day starvation. Under the optimal conditions, the highest biomass and carbohydrate productivity were 1.437 and 0.631gL−1d−1, respectively. This performance is better than that reported in most related studies. Since glucose accounted for nearly 93% of the carbohydrates accumulated in C. vulgaris FSP-E, the microalga is an excellent feedstock for bioethanol fermentation.
► A two-staged process was used to produce lipids from Chlorella vulgaris. ► The 1st stage is for a fast and high density cell growth under nutrient-rich conditions. ► The 2nd stage is for lipid ...production under limitations of nitrate and controlled conditions. ► About 53% of dry cell weight accumulated as lipids after 24h at an optimal 2nd stage conditions.
A two-stage process, composed of growth under nutrient-rich conditions followed by cultivation under nitrogen starvation and controlled conditions of phosphate, light intensity, aeration, and carbon sources was applied for lipid production by the green alga Chlorella vulgaris. Using conditions without addition of nitrogen, 2mg/L PO4-P, light intensity of 100μmol/m2/s and 0.25vvm of air, about 43% of dry cell weight accumulated as lipids after 12h, which equates to a lipid productivity of 77.8mg/L/d. In a medium containing 5mg/L NO3-N and 2mg/L PO4-P, and at a light intensity of 100μmol/m2/s and 0.25vvm of 2% CO2, about 53% of dry cell weight consisted of lipids after 24h, representing a lipid productivity of 77.1mg/L/d. The low amount of nutrients, moderate aeration and light intensity were helpful for increasing lipid productivity.
Nanomaterial oxides are common formations of nanomaterials in the natural environment. Herein, the nanotoxicology of typical graphene oxide (GO) and carboxyl single-walled carbon nanotubes (C-SWCNT) ...was compared. The results showed that cell division of Chlorella vulgaris was promoted at 24 h and then inhibited at 96 h after nanomaterial exposure. At 96 h, GO and C-SWCNT inhibited the rates of cell division by 0.08–15% and 0.8–28.3%, respectively. Both GO and C-SWCNT covered the cell surface, but the uptake percentage of C-SWCNT was 2-fold higher than that of GO. C-SWCNT induced stronger plasmolysis and mitochondrial membrane potential loss and decreased the cell viability to a greater extent than GO. Moreover, C-SWCNT-exposed cells exhibited more starch grains and lysosome formation and higher reactive oxygen species (ROS) levels than GO-exposed cells. Metabolomics analysis revealed significant differences in the metabolic profiles among the control, C-SWCNT and GO groups. The metabolisms of alkanes, lysine, octadecadienoic acid and valine was associated with ROS and could be considered as new biomarkers of ROS. The nanotoxicological mechanisms involved the inhibition of fatty acid, amino acid and small molecule acid metabolisms. These findings provide new insights into the effects of GO and C-SWCNT on cellular responses.
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► P is important to enhance algal lipid productivity under nitrogen deficiency (N−). ► Lipid productivity under N− with sufficient P supply is highest as 58.39mg/L/day. ► P uptake ...rate under N− is 3.8 times faster than that of sufficient N&P supply. ► 31P NMR shows that uptake P is accumulated as polyphosphate in algal cells.
To investigate the role of phosphorus in lipid production under nitrogen starvation conditions, five types of media possessing different nitrogen and phosphorus concentrations or their combination were prepared to culture Chlorella vulgaris. It was found that biomass production under nitrogen deficient condition with sufficient phosphorus supply was similar to that of the control (with sufficient nutrition), resulting in a maximum lipid productivity of 58.39mg/L/day. Meanwhile, 31P NMR showed that phosphorus in the medium was transformed and accumulated as polyphosphate in cells. The uptake rate of phosphorus in cells was 3.8 times higher than the uptake rate of the control. This study demonstrates that phosphorus plays an important role in lipid production of C. vulgaris under nitrogen deficient conditions and implies a potential to combine phosphorus removal from wastewater with biodiesel production via microalgae.
This study demonstrates that ecologically engineered bacterial consortium could enhance microalgal biomass and lipid productivities through carbon exchange. Phycosphere bacterial diversity analysis ...in xenic Chlorella vulgaris (XCV) confirmed the presence of growth enhancing and inhibiting microorganisms. Co-cultivation of axenic C. vulgaris (ACV) with four different growth enhancing bacteria revealed a symbiotic relationship with each bacterium. An artificial microalgal-bacterial consortium (AMBC) constituting these four bacteria and ACV showed that the bacterial consortium exerted a statistically significant (P<0.05) growth enhancement on ACV. Moreover, AMBC had superior flocculation efficiency, lipid content and quality. Studies on carbon exchange revealed that bacteria in AMBC might utilize fixed organic carbon released by microalgae, and in return, supply inorganic and low molecular weight (LMW) organic carbon influencing algal growth and metabolism. Such exchanges, although species specific, have enormous significance in carbon cycle and can be exploitated by microalgal biotechnology industry.
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•Exposure of microalgae Chlorella vulgaris and Spirulina platensis to Methylene blue resulted in acute toxicity.•Growth inhibition rate, pigment and protein content were inhibited due ...to toxicity.•Inhibition of pigment synthesis was primary reason of toxicity.
Microalgae are ecologically important species in aquatic ecosystems due to their role as primary producers. The inhibition of growth of microalgae due to dye pollution results in an upheaval in the trophic transfer of nutrients and energy in aquatic ecosystems. Therefore, this investigation aimed to evaluate the toxicity of a textile dye Methylene blue (MB) on two microalgae viz. Chlorella vulgaris and Spirulina platensis. An exposure of the unialgal populations of both the microalgae towards graded concentrations of the dye showed a concentration-dependent decrease in specific growth rate, pigment and protein content. In the toxicity study of 24 –96-h, following the OECD guidelines 201, the EC50 values of C. vulgaris and S. platensis ranged from 61.81 to 5.43 mg/L and 5.83 to 1.08 mg/L respectively revealing that S. platensis exhibited a higher level of susceptibility towards the dye as compared to C. vulgaris and the latter is more tolerant to the dye toxicity even at higher concentrations. The findings indicate that the response to dye is a species-specific phenomenon. Given the differences in the cell structure and enzymatic pathways in Spirulina platensis (a prokaryote) and Chlorella vulgaris (an eukaryote), the tolerance levels can differ. After 96-h exposure of C. vulgaris to MB (100 mg/L), the chlorophyll-a, b and carotenoid content were reduced 2.5, 5.96 and 3.57 times in comparison to control whereas in S. platensis exposure to MB (10 mg/L), the chlorophyll-a and carotenoid content were reduced 3.59 and 5.08 times in comparison to control. After 96-h exposure of C. vulgaris and S. platensis to the dye (20 mg/L), the protein content was found to be 4.34 and 2.75 times lower than the control. The protein content has decreased in accordance with the increase in dye concentration.
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