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Effects of UV-C radiation on Chlorella vulgaris, a biofilm-forming alga

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Abstract

Photosynthetic biofilms proliferating on heritage monuments represent a major threat for curators leading to biodegradation and esthetic issues. Previous studies demonstrated that UV-C, used as a tool for biofilm eradication, is a promising avenue to combat microbial proliferation. In this study, this environmentally friendly method was tested on biofilm-forming Chlorella vulgaris suspension. Algal physiological response to UV-C was then assessed. Results showed that > 10 kJ m−2 UV-C exposure was enough to directly kill cells whereas low UV-C exposure reduced quantum yield of photosystem II and inhibited both respiration and photosynthesis. Clear relationships between UV-C exposure times and physiological responses were found. In addition, the use of VIS-light after UV-C treatment enhances chlorophyll bleaching. Our findings contribute to a better understanding of the physiological responses of Chlorella vulgaris to UV-C radiation allowing thus an optimization of the UV-C treatment reported in our previous studies.

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Acknowledgements

We thank the Ministère de la Culture et de la Communication (France), the Laboratoire de Recherche des Monuments Historiques (LRMH, Paris), and the Conseil Régional of Franche-Comté for their financial aid. We express our appreciation to the editor and to the anonymous reviewers for helping to improve our paper.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratoire Chrono-Environnement—UMR 6249, Université de Bourgogne Franche-Comté, 16, route de Gray, Besançon, France

    Stéphane Pfendler, Badr Alaoui-Sossé, Laurence Alaoui-Sossé & Lotfi Aleya

  2. Centre de Recherche sur la Conservation—Laboratoire de recherche des monuments historiques—USR 3224, Champs-Sur-Marne, Paris, France

    Faisl Bousta

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  1. Stéphane Pfendler
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  2. Badr Alaoui-Sossé
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  3. Laurence Alaoui-Sossé
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Correspondence to Stéphane Pfendler.

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Pfendler, S., Alaoui-Sossé, B., Alaoui-Sossé, L. et al. Effects of UV-C radiation on Chlorella vulgaris, a biofilm-forming alga. J Appl Phycol 30, 1607–1616 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10811-017-1380-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10811-017-1380-3

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