Abstract
Algae plays a significant role for the primary production in the oligotrophic ecosystems such as the acid mine pit lakes. Graesiella sp. MA1 was a new acid-tolerant photosynthetic protist isolated from an acid mine pit lake. To understand the acid responses of Graesiella sp. MA1, its physiological changes and metabolomics were studied during long-term acid stress. Photosynthetic pigments, soluble proteins, and antioxidant systems of Graesiella sp. MA1 cells displayed two phases, the adaptation phase and the growth phase. During the adaptation phase, both photosynthetic pigments and soluble proteins were inhibited, while antioxidant activity of SOD, APX, and GSH were promoted to response to the organism’s damage. Metabolomics results revealed lipids and organic acids were abundant components in Graesiella sp. MA1 cells. In response to acid stress, the levels of acid-dependent resistant amino acids, including glutamate, aspartate, arginine, proline, lysine, and histidine, accumulated continuously to maintain orderly intracellular metabolic processes. In addition, fatty acids were mainly unsaturated, which could improve the fluidity of the cell membranes under acid stress. Metabolomic and physiological changes showed that Graesiella sp. MA1 had tolerance during long-term acid stress and the potential to be used as a bioremediation strain for the acidic wastewater.
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This work was funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (U20A20325 and U19A20108) and Key Research and Development Plan of Anhui (2022107020015).
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Experiment design and data analysis were performed by Azuan Liu, Jin Wang, and Zhengbo Yue. The first draft of the manuscript was written by Azuan Liu. Jin Wang and Zhengbo Yue revised draft of manuscript. Screening of acid-tolerant algae was performed by Lu Zhang. Sample analysis was performed by Ao Zhou and Fan Yang.
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Liu, A., Zhang, L., Zhou, A. et al. Metabolomic and physiological changes of acid-tolerant Graesiella sp. MA1 during long-term acid stress. Environ Sci Pollut Res 30, 97209–97218 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-023-29295-x
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-023-29295-x