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Shifts in photosynthetic parameters and lipid production of the freshwater microalga Selenastrum gracile (Chlorophyceae) under cadmium exposure

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Abstract

The amount of metals released into the environment can increase with anthropogenic activities and different trophic levels can be affected. In the present study, we evaluated the changes in growth, chlorophyll content, photosynthetic parameters, and lipid and fatty acid (FA) contents of the freshwater microalga Selenastrum gracile (Chlorophyceae) exposed to sublethal concentrations of cadmium for 72 h. Our results show that Cd negatively affected algal growth and chlorophyll a increased per cell under Cd exposure. Photosynthetic parameters (maximum and operational yield, as well as quenching) were affected under Cd exposure, indicating damage to the photosynthetic apparatus. The amount of lipids and fatty acids increased with the increase of Cd in the medium. The most affected lipid classes under metal exposure were aliphatic hydrocarbon (HC), acetone mobile polar lipid (AMPL), and phospholipid (PL). Based on our results, we suggest that the production of algal lipids and fatty acids changed as a response to the amount of metal in the medium, avoiding photosynthetic damage at the lowest Cd concentration with the increase of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA). However, at higher concentrations, the maintenance of the high values of PUFA was not observed and there was a decrease in the unsaturation of FA, resulting in higher amounts of MUFA. In addition, the percentage of structural lipids (sterol—ST—and PL) also decreased at the highest concentration. This, in combination with the decreased unsaturation of FA, suggests changes in membrane conformation and, consequently, damage to the photosynthetic machinery in the presence of Cd.

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Data availability

Datasets are available upon request. Please contact Giseli S. Rocha (swertsbio@gmail.com).

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Acknowledgments

The authors thank Drs. Ana Teresa Lombardi and Maria da Graça Gama Melão for providing the laboratory facilities to develop this study.

Funding

This study was funded by São Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP, Grant #2015/25436-1 – first author) and Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC).

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  1. NEEA/CRHEA, São Carlos School of Engineering, University of São Paulo (USP), Avenida Trabalhador Sãocarlense, 400, Parque Arnold Schmidt, São Carlos, SP, CEP 13566-590, Brazil

    Giseli Swerts Rocha & Evaldo L. G. Espíndola

  2. Department of Ocean Sciences, Memorial University of Newfoundland, St. John’s, NL, A1C 5S7, Canada

    Christopher C. Parrish

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  1. Giseli Swerts Rocha
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  2. Christopher C. Parrish
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Rocha, G.S., Parrish, C.C. & Espíndola, E.L.G. Shifts in photosynthetic parameters and lipid production of the freshwater microalga Selenastrum gracile (Chlorophyceae) under cadmium exposure. J Appl Phycol 32, 4047–4055 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10811-020-02255-5

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