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Toxic effect of metal cation binary mixtures to the seaweed Gracilaria domingensis (Gracilariales, Rhodophyta)

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Abstract

The macroalga Gracilaria domingensis is an important resource for the food, pharmaceutical, cosmetic, and biotechnology industries. G. domingensis is at a part of the food web foundation, providing nutrients and microelements to upper levels. As seaweed storage metals in the vacuoles, they are considered the main vectors to magnify these toxic elements. This work describes the evaluation of the toxicity of binary mixtures of available metal cations based on the growth rates of G. domingensis over a 48-h exposure. The interactive effects of each binary mixture were determined using a toxic unit (TU) concept that was the sum of the relative contribution of each toxicant and calculated using the ratio between the toxicant concentration and its endpoint. Mixtures of Cd(II)/Cu(II) and Zn(II)/Ca(II) demonstrated to be additive; Cu(II)/Zn(II), Cu(II)/Mg(II), Cu(II)/Ca(II), Zn(II)/Mg(II), and Ca(II)/Mg(II) mixtures were synergistic, and all interactions studied with Cd(II) were antagonistic. Hypotheses that explain the toxicity of binary mixtures at the molecular level are also suggested. These results represent the first effort to characterize the combined effect of available metal cations, based on the TU concept on seaweed in a total controlled medium. The results presented here are invaluable to the understanding of seaweed metal cation toxicity in the marine environment, the mechanism of toxicity action and how the tolerance of the organism.

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Acknowledgments

The authors are grateful for the financial and technical support during this study from the following institutions and people: Ministério de Ciência, Tecnologia e Inovação, CNPq, NAP-Biodiversidade Marinha, INCT-Redoxoma, Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo-FAPESP: 09/54718-4 (L.F.M), and NAP-PhotoTech (the USP Research Consortium for Photochemical Technology) from C. V. Stevani.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Departamento de Bioquímica, Instituto de Química, Universidade de São Paulo, 26077, 05599-970, São Paulo, SP, Brazil

    Luiz Fernando Mendes, Leonardo Zambotti-Villela & Pio Colepicolo

  2. Departamento de Química Fundamental, Instituto de Química, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, Brazil

    Cassius Vinicius Stevani

  3. Instituto de Botânica, Núcleo de Pesquisa em Ficologia, São Paulo, SP, Brazil

    Nair Sumie Yokoya

Authors
  1. Luiz Fernando Mendes
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  2. Cassius Vinicius Stevani
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  3. Leonardo Zambotti-Villela
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  4. Nair Sumie Yokoya
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  5. Pio Colepicolo
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Luiz Fernando Mendes.

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Responsible editor: Elena Maestri

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Mendes, L.F., Stevani, C.V., Zambotti-Villela, L. et al. Toxic effect of metal cation binary mixtures to the seaweed Gracilaria domingensis (Gracilariales, Rhodophyta). Environ Sci Pollut Res 21, 8216–8223 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-014-2763-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-014-2763-5

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