Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Copper uptake and copper-induced physiological changes in the marine alga Cladophora prolifera (Roth.) Kütz. (Chlorophyta, Ulvophyceae)

  • Published:
Brazilian Journal of Botany Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Green algae of the genus Cladophora have been reported as being bioindicators of metal contamination all over the world. The degree of total as well as intracellular copper (Cu) uptakes by the alga after 24-h prolonged exposure with 0 (control), 50 and 500 µM Cu doses, was compared with selected physiological markers. Increased intracellular Cu content in the Cladophora thalli was followed by decreased potassium (K) content, alteration of assimilation pigments composition, decreased integrity of chlorophyll a and its fluorescence. Increase of intracellular Cu was followed by the increases of TBARS and superoxide contents. While K content, chlorophyll a/b, chlorophyll a fluorescence and TBARS contents in C. prolifera were significantly altered as result of the lowest, 50 µM Cu dose tested, levels of chlorophyll a + b and soluble proteins did not change even after application of the 500 µM Cu dose.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

Abbreviations

Dw:

Dry weight

MDA:

Malondialdehyde

PPFD:

Photosynthetic photon flux density

ROS:

Reactive oxygen species

TBARS:

Thiobarbituric acid-reactive substances

References

  • Bačkor M, Loppi S (2009) Interactions of lichens with heavy metals. Biol Plant 53:214–222

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bačkor M, Váczi P, Barták M, Buďová J, Dzubaj A (2007) Uptake, photosynthetic characteristics and membrane lipid peroxidation levels in the lichen photobiont Trebouxia erici exposed to copper and cadmium. Bryologist 110:100–107

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bačkor M, Kováčik J, Dzubaj A, Bačkorová M (2009) Physiological comparison of copper toxicity in the lichens Peltigera rufescens (Weis) Humb. and Cladina arbuscula subsp. mitis (Sandst.) Ruoss. Plant Growth Regul 58:279–286

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Baumann HA, Morrison L, Stengel DB (2009) Metal accumulation and toxicity measured by PAM—chlorophyll fluorescence in seven species of marine macroalgae. Ecotoxicol Environ Saf 72:1063–1075

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Bradford MM (1976) A rapid and sensitive method for the quantification of microgram quantities of protein utilizing the principle of protein-dye binding. Anal Biochem 72:248–254

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Chettri MK, Cook CM, Vardaka E, Sawidis T, Lanaras T (1998) The effect of Cu, Zn and Pb on the chlorophyll content of the lichen Cladonia convoluta and Cladonia rangiformis. Environ Exp Bot 39:1–10

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Clark RB (2001) Marine pollution, 5th edn. Oxford University Press, UK

    Google Scholar 

  • Garty J (2001) Biomonitoring atmospheric heavy metals with lichens: theory and application. Crit Rev Plant Sci 20:309–371

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Kalinowska R, Pawlik-Skowrońska B (2010) Response of two terrestrial green microalgae (Chlorophyta, Trebouxiophyceae) isolated from Cu-rich and unpolluted soils to copper stress. Environ Pollut 158:2778–2785

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Kennish MJ (1996) Practical handbook of estuarine and marine pollution. CRC Press, Boca Raton

    Google Scholar 

  • Kováčik J, Klejdus B, Bačkor M, Štork F, Hedbavny J (2011) Physiological responses of root-less epiphytic plants to acid rain. Ecotoxicology 20:348–357

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Pawlik-Skowrońska B, Pirszel J, Brown MT (2007) Concentrations of phytochelatins and glutathione found in natural assemblages of seaweeds depend on species and metal concentrations of the habitat. Aquat Toxicol 83:190–199

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Piovár J, Stavrou E, Kaduková J, Kimáková T, Bačkor M (2011) Influence of long-term exposure to copper on lichen photobiont Trebouxia erici and free-living alga Scenedesmus quadricauda. Plant Growth Regul 63:81–88

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rocchetta I, Küpper H (2009) Chromium- and copper-induced inhibition of photosynthesis in Euglena gracilis analysed on the single-cell level by fluorescence kinetic microscopy. New Phytologyst 182:405–420

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Roncarati F, Saez CA, Greco M, Gledhill M, Bitonti MB, Brown MT (2015) Response differences between Ectocarpus siliculosus populations to copper stress involve cellular exclusion and induction of the phytochelatin biosynthetic pathway. Aquat Toxicol 159:167–175

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Ronen R, Galun M (1984) Pigment extraction from lichens with dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) and estimation of chlorophyll degradation. Environ Exp Bot 24:239–245

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Sabatini SE, Leonardi PI, Rodríguez MC (2011) Responses to sublethal copper exposure in two strains of Chlamydomonas reinhardtii (Volvocales, Chlorophyceae) in autotrophic and mixotrophic conditions. Phycologia 50:78–88

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Saez CA, Roncarati F, Moenne A, Moody JA, Brown MT (2015) Copper-induced intra-specific oxidative damage and antioxidant responses in strains of the brown alga Ectocarpus siliculosus with different pollution histories. Aquat Toxicol 159:81–89

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Schützendübel A, Pole A (2002) Plant responses to abiotic stresses: heavy metal-induced oxidative stress and protection by mycorrhization. J Exp Bot 53:1351–1365

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Stohs SJ, Bagchi D (1995) Oxidative mechanisms in the toxicity of metal ions. Free Radical Biol Med 18:321–336

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Vavilin DV, Ducruet JM, Matorin DN, Venediktov PS, Rubin AB (1998) Membrane lipid peroxidation, cell viability and photosystem II activity in the green alga Chlorella pyrenoidosa subjected to various stress conditions. J Photochem Photobiol B 42:233–239

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Wellburn AR (1994) The spectral determination of chlorophylls a and b, as well as total carotenoids, using various solvents with spectrophotometers of different resolutions. J Plant Physiol 144:307–313

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Wissel H, Mayr C, Lücke A (2008) A new approach for the isolation of cellulose from aquatic plants tissue and freshwater sediments for stable isotopic analysis. Org Geochem 39:1545–1561

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Zulkifly SB, Graham JM, Young EB, Mayer RJ, Piotrowski MJ, Smith I, Graham LE (2013) The genus Cladophora Kützing (Ulvophyceae) as a globally distributed ecological engineer. J Phycol 49:1–17

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

This work was financially supported by the Slovak Grant Agency (VEGA 1/1238/12). The authors offer their thanks to Kenneth Andrew Dvorsky M.Sc. M.Ed. (University of Toronto, Canada) for comments on the manuscript and Dr. Andrija Želimir Lovrić (Herbarium Adriaticum, Zagreb, Croatia) for help with algal identification.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Pharmacognosy and Botany, University of Veterinary Medicine and Pharmacy, Komenského 73, 041 81, Košice, Slovak Republic

    Miriam Bačkorová

  2. Department of Botany, Institute of Biology and Ecology, Faculty of Science, Šafárik University, Mánesova 23, 041 67, Košice, Slovak Republic

    Ivana Maslaňáková & Martin Bačkor

Authors
  1. Miriam Bačkorová
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Ivana Maslaňáková
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Martin Bačkor
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Martin Bačkor.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Bačkorová, M., Maslaňáková, I. & Bačkor, M. Copper uptake and copper-induced physiological changes in the marine alga Cladophora prolifera (Roth.) Kütz. (Chlorophyta, Ulvophyceae). Braz. J. Bot 39, 447–452 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40415-016-0251-5

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40415-016-0251-5

Keywords

Search

Navigation