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Response of the freshwater diatom Halamphora veneta (Kützing) Levkov to copper and mercury and its potential for bioassessment of heavy metal toxicity in aquatic habitats

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Abstract

This study investigates the effects of copper and mercury on growth rate, chlorophyll a content, superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity, SOD mRNA gene expression, and frustule morphology of the benthic freshwater diatom Halamphora veneta (Kützing) Levkov and the potential utility of each for toxicity assessment in aquatic habitats. Results showed the following: (1) Compared to mercury, exposure to copper resulted in greater growth inhibition of H. veneta even at low concentrations and after short durations of exposure; (2) high accumulation of chlorophyll a in H. veneta is a stress response to the presence of heavy metals; (3) SOD activity and SOD gene expression varied in H. veneta according to the concentration, exposure time, and type of heavy metal; and (4) exposure to mercury resulted in deformity in the shape and an increase in size of the frustule of H. veneta. Growth rate, chlorophyll a content, SOD activity and gene expression, and frustule morphology of H. veneta are all potential candidates for the toxicological assessment of copper and mercury in aquatic habitats.

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Funding

This research was supported by The National Natural Science Foundation of China (31470308, 31601866) and the Program of Natural Science of Heilongjiang Province of the People’s Republic of China (C2015021).

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  1. Weijie Mu and Kun Jia contributed equally to this work.

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  1. College of Life Science and Technology, Harbin Normal University, Harbin, 150025, China

    Weijie Mu, Kun Jia, Yan Liu, Xuming Pan & Yawen Fan

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  1. Weijie Mu
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  2. Kun Jia
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Correspondence to Yawen Fan.

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Mu, W., Jia, K., Liu, Y. et al. Response of the freshwater diatom Halamphora veneta (Kützing) Levkov to copper and mercury and its potential for bioassessment of heavy metal toxicity in aquatic habitats. Environ Sci Pollut Res 24, 26375–26386 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-017-0225-6

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