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Allelopathic effects and potential active substances of Ceratophyllum demersum L. on Chlorella vulgaris Beij.

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Abstract

Morphological responses of green algae to submerged macrophytes were rarely studied, and the potential active substances played roles in the interaction were little known previously. In the current work, according to acetone extract experiments, it was demonstrated that submerged macrophytes (Ceratophyllum demersum L.) could allelopathically inhibit the growth of Chlorella vulgaris Beij. and induce its colony formation, the effects of which were concentration dependent. Gas chromatography–mass spectrometry analysis revealed eight kinds of active substances from the C. demersum extracts, namely hexanoic acid, phthalic acid, octanedioic acid, butenoic acid, azelaic acid, palmitic acid, alpha linolenic acid and pentanedioic acid. Standard compound addition test indicated that palmitic acid and alpha linolenic acid might play important roles in the induction of colony formation and growth inhibition of C. vulgaris. This study provided some more new insights into the photosynthetic organism interaction between submerged macrophytes and green algae, in terms of not only growth but also morphological responses.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the National Nature Science Foundation Project of China (Nos. 31500380 & 31700405). Besides, we really thank the editors and anonymous reviewers’ suggestions on improving the whole manuscript. We are also grateful to our co-author Dr. Yunni Gao for her assistance in the experimentation and manuscript revision.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Fisheries, Henan Normal University, Jianshe Road, Xinxiang, 453007, Henan, China

    Jing Dong, Mengyang Chang, Chenlu Li, Dujuan Dai & Yunni Gao

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  1. Jing Dong
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  2. Mengyang Chang
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Correspondence to Jing Dong.

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Dong, J., Chang, M., Li, C. et al. Allelopathic effects and potential active substances of Ceratophyllum demersum L. on Chlorella vulgaris Beij.. Aquat Ecol 53, 651–663 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10452-019-09715-2

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