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Effect of nonylphenol on response of physiology and photosynthesis-related gene transcription of Chlorella vulgaris

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Abstract

Nonylphenol (NP) is regarded as a kind of persistent organic pollutant which exists ubiquitously in the environment. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of NP on Chlorella vulgaris physiological indices and gene transcription. The results showed that NP stress inhibited algal growth in short-term bioassay. NP also decreased chlorophyll content, including chl a, chl b, and total chlorophyll. NP caused oxidant hurt by overproducing reactive oxygen species (ROS), which might destroy the overall membrane system to cause malondialdehyde content increase. NP inhibited photosynthesis-related gene transcription in C. vulgaris after 24 to 48 h exposure. The lowest transcript levels of psaB, psbA, and rbcL in C. vulgaris decreased to only 18.5%, 7%, and 4% of the control, respectively. Taken together, our results demonstrate that NP is toxic to fresh algae growth by affecting the photosynthesis-related genes transcription and overproducing ROS to disrupt cell structure in a short period.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Biological and Environmental Engineering, Zhejiang University of Technology, Hangzhou, 310032, People’s Republic of China

    Haifeng Qian, Xiangjie Pan, Shutian Shi, Shuqiong Yu, Haiyan Jiang, Zhifan Lin & Zhengwei Fu

  2. Key Laboratory of Non-point Sources Pollution Control, The Ministry of Agriculture of the People’s Republic of China, Hangzhou, 310029, People’s Republic of China

    Haifeng Qian

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  1. Haifeng Qian
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  2. Xiangjie Pan
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  3. Shutian Shi
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  4. Shuqiong Yu
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  5. Haiyan Jiang
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  6. Zhifan Lin
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  7. Zhengwei Fu
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Correspondence to Zhengwei Fu.

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Qian, H., Pan, X., Shi, S. et al. Effect of nonylphenol on response of physiology and photosynthesis-related gene transcription of Chlorella vulgaris . Environ Monit Assess 182, 61–69 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-010-1858-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-010-1858-9

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