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Toxicity of Cadmium, Anthracene, and Their Mixture to Desmodesmus subspicatus Estimated by Algal Growth-Inhibition ISO Standard Test

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Abstract

Cells of Desmodesmus subspicatus 86.81 were used to examine the toxicity of cadmium chloride (CdCl2) and anthracene (ANT) applied individually and in combination. The experiments were performed according to standardized ISO (International Organization for Standardization) 8692 protocol (2004). Parameters measured were the number of cells and chlorophyll a fluorescence parameters. ErC10 and ErC50 values (growth rate [r] inhibition by 10% and 50%, respectively) for single toxicants were determined separately. The effect of mixtures of the substances (Cd + ANT) at concentrations corresponding to ErC10 (ErC10 + ErC10) and ErC50 (ErC50 + ErC50) values was characterized. The toxicity of individual chemicals after a 72-h exposure was as follows: ANT (ErC10 = 0.06; ErC50 = 0.26 mg l−1) and CdCl2 (ErC10 = 0.12; ErC50 = 0.30 mg l−1). The combination Cd + ANT decreased the population growth rate more strongly than the substances applied individually. Cadmium at a concentration corresponding to ErC10 slightly influenced the parameters of chlorophyll a fluorescence as measured by the OJIP test (O, J, I, and P are the different steps of fluorescence induction curve), whereas the influence of ANT was not statistically significant. In Cd + ANT–treated samples, the photosynthetic “vitality” (PI), the maximum quantum yield of primary photochemistry (φPo), and the fraction of active PS II reaction centre (RC) decreased, but the values of ABS/RC, TR0/RC, and DI0/RC increased. The type of interaction between Cd and ANT depended on the concentration of chemicals used. When the substances were applied at concentrations of ErC10, synergistic effects were observed, whereas the mixture of chemicals used at an ErC50 concentration showed an antagonistic interaction.

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Acknowledgments

This work was financially supported by grant (No. N304 092 31/3355) from the Polish Ministry of Science and Higher Education.

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  1. Department of Plant Physiology, University of Gdańsk, Al. Marszałka J. Piłsudskiego 46, 81-378, Gdynia, Poland

    Agnieszka Baścik-Remisiewicz, Anna Aksmann, Adam Żak, Maja Kowalska & Zbigniew Tukaj

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  1. Agnieszka Baścik-Remisiewicz
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  2. Anna Aksmann
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Correspondence to Agnieszka Baścik-Remisiewicz.

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Baścik-Remisiewicz, A., Aksmann, A., Żak, A. et al. Toxicity of Cadmium, Anthracene, and Their Mixture to Desmodesmus subspicatus Estimated by Algal Growth-Inhibition ISO Standard Test. Arch Environ Contam Toxicol 60, 610–617 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00244-010-9585-3

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