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Succinic acid inhibits photosynthesis of Microcystis aeruginosa via damaging PSII oxygen-evolving complex and reaction center

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Abstract

To elucidate the mechanism of succinic acid (SA) inhibition of Microcystis aeruginosa, the chlorophyll fluorescence transients, photosynthesis, photosynthetic electron transport activity, and gene expression of M. aeruginosa were evaluated under various doses of SA. The results demonstrated that, after treatment with 60 mg L−1 SA for 1 h, the chlorophyll fluorescence transients and related parameters changed significantly, indicating that the function and structure of photosynthetic apparatuses of Microcystis were seriously damaged. The initial quantum efficiency α, maximum net photosynthetic rate Pnmax, dark respiration rate Rd, and gross photosynthetic rate decreased to 57%, 49%, 49%, and 46%, respectively, relative to the control. Furthermore, photosystem II (PSII) activity (H2O→p-BQ) and the electron transport activity of H2O→MV and DPC→MV significantly decreased. Real-time PCR analysis revealed that, following incubation with 60 mg L−1 SA for 24 h, the expression level of core protein genes (psbA, psaB, psbD, and psbO) of the photosynthesis centers photosystem I (PSI) and PSII decreased significantly. However, the transcription of gene nblA encoding phycobilisome degradation protein was elevated. The downregulation of the rbcL gene, which encodes the large subunit of ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase (Rubisco), resulted in the suppression of CO2 fixation and assimilation. High concentration (60 mg L−1) of SA resulted in damage to oxygen-evolving complex (OEC) and reaction center of PSII, blocking photosynthetic electron transport, thereby lowering the rate photosynthesis and inhibiting the growth of Microcystis. We concluded that inhibition of photosynthesis is an important mechanism of SA inhibition in M. aeruginosa.

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Acknowledgements

The work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 31670698). We also thank the LetPub (www.letpub.com) for its linguistic assistance during the preparation of this manuscript.

Funding

The work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 31670698).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Landscape Architecture, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing, 210037, Jiangsu, China

    Yi-dong Chen, Yuan Zhu, Jian-pan Xin, Chu Zhao & Ru-nan Tian

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  1. Yi-dong Chen
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  2. Yuan Zhu
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  3. Jian-pan Xin
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  4. Chu Zhao
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  5. Ru-nan Tian
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Contributions

YDC and RNT conceived and designed the study; YDC, YZ, and CZ performed the experiments; YDC, YZ, and JPX contributed significantly to analysis and manuscript preparation. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

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Correspondence to Ru-nan Tian.

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Chen, Yd., Zhu, Y., Xin, Jp. et al. Succinic acid inhibits photosynthesis of Microcystis aeruginosa via damaging PSII oxygen-evolving complex and reaction center. Environ Sci Pollut Res 28, 58470–58479 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-021-14811-8

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