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Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) are ubiquitous and toxic contaminants found in high concentrations in watercourses, and are not well removed by conventional wastewater treatment facilities. This study aimed to evaluate the removal and transformation of BDE-47, one of the environmentally predominant PBDE congener, by a green alga (Chlorella vulgaris) and a cyanobacterium (Microcystis flos-aquae) under different light conditions. Living and autoclaved cultures were exposed to BDE-47 at a concentration of 10 μg L−1 for 7 days. Both species removed >90% of BDE-47 very shortly after spiking. Light intensity affected the transformation of BDE-47 in living cultures of both species, since 5 to 11 times more debromination products were measured at a light intensity of 100 μmol photons m−2 s−1 than at 20 μmol photons m−2 s−1. Living cultures of M. flos-aquae transformed BDE-47 at a rate of 0.22 day−1 while no transformation was observed in the respective autoclaved cultures. On the contrary, both living and autoclaved cultures of C. vulgaris had similar BDE-47 transformation rates of 0.05–0.06 day−1. Debromination of BDE-47 was a predominant transformation pathway in cultures of C. vulgaris, with two times higher BDE-28 concentrations measured than in M. flos-aquae, while hydroxylation was more dominant with the cyanobacterium. Most BDE-47 and its debromination product BDE-28 were found on the cell surface of both species. These results reveal that different transformation mechanisms were involved in C. vulgaris and M. flos-aquae cultures and confirm the importance of species selection for the removal of PBDEs from contaminated environments.

Norflurazon (Nf) and fluridone (Fd) are phytoene desaturase inhibitor herbicides that are widely used for the control of grasses and invasive aquatic weeds, respectively. These herbicides enter aquatic environments where they can negatively affect non-target plant species (e.g. algae). Their toxicity towards algae may be modified by abiotic factors such as light intensity, temperature, pH and nutrients. Investigating the effect of low temperature on the toxicity of Nf and Fd is particularly important because both temperature and herbicides affect some of the same physiological process (e.g. carotenoid biosynthesis). Here we demonstrate that Nf reduced photosynthesis in the green alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii more strongly at 15 than at 25ºC, while Fd showed stronger effects at 25 than at 15ºC. Neither herbicide significantly inhibited photosynthesis at 8ºC. Although the overall pigment content decreased with lower temperature, there was an increase in photo-protective carotenoids relative to chlorophylls at both 15 and 8ºC in the absence of herbicides. Moreover, most of the measured pigments decreased markedly in the presence of Nf and Fd at 15 and 25ºC, including β-carotene which fell to below detection limits. The fatty acid composition was modified by temperature and the level of unsaturation noticeably increased at 15 compared with 25ºC. At 8ºC, however, despite a 2.4 times decrease in fatty acid content, the unsaturation level was similar to 25ºC acclimated cells. Monounsaturated fatty acids increased concomitant with a decrease in polyunsaturated fatty acid in the 2.5 µM Nf treatment at 25ºC. Differences in the effect of Nf and Fd on photosynthesis at 15 and 25ºC can be attributed to the marked decrease in carotenoids, which play an important role in photoprotection. At 8ºC, the apparent lack of inhibitory effects compared with control cultures could be due to enhanced photoprotection and/or decreased uptake of herbicides by the alga.

Polybrominated diphenyl ethers are ubiquitous and toxic contaminants in aquatic environments. The effect of polybrominated diphenyl ether BDE-47 on five species of cyanobacteria, along with their removal ability was investigated. Four species, namely Synechocystis sp., Oscillatoria planctonica , Microcystis flos-aquae and Nostoc sp., were exposed to BDE-47 at concentrations ranging from 0.05 to 1.0 mg L −1 for 14 days, while the exposure time for Pseudanabaena sp. was 30 days. The first four species were very tolerant to BDE-47 while growth and photosynthesis of Pseudanabaena were significantly inhibited by BDE-47 at concentrations over 0.1 mg L −1 . However, this species could recover from the toxicity of high concentrations of BDE-47 after 30 days of exposure, indicating the development of some “resistance” after pre-exposure to 1.0 mg L −1 BDE-47. The “resistant” cells had a higher growth rate, photosynthesis and glutathione S-transferase activity than normal Pseudanabaena cells. The sensitivity of Pseudanabaena to BDE-47 toxicity was affected by its initial filament density, with cultures having a low filament density (2.3 × 10 6 filaments mL −1 ) being up to 14–15 times more sensitive than cultures with a high filament density (13 × 10 6 filaments mL −1 ). All cyanobacteria could remove 70–82% of BDE-47 in their media, with more than 60% of BDE-47 accumulated in cells. This is the first study showing the high tolerance of different cyanobacteria species to BDE-47 toxicity and their removal ability. The study also revealed that the sensitive Pseudanabaena could acquire a “resistance” to BDE-47, which was transferred to the next generation.

The temperature-dependent sensitivities of two algal species and two strains of cyanobacteria to the photosynthesis-inhibiting herbicide atrazine were evaluated in order to understand how the interaction between acclimation temperature and herbicide will affect growth and photosynthesis of aquatic microorganisms. The green alga Scenedesmus obliquus, the diatom Navicula pelliculosa and a toxic and non-toxic strain of Microcystis aeruginosa were acclimated to three different temperatures (10, 15 and 25 °C) and exposed to five concentrations of the herbicide atrazine (0–0.15 μM) for 72 h. Growth, photosynthetic yields, energy fluxes within photosystem II and pigment content were then measured as potential responses to each treatment. With the exception of N. pelliculosa, the toxicity of atrazine was higher when microorganisms were acclimated to lower temperatures. N. pelliculosa was not only the most tolerant to atrazine, but also had a similar sensitivity to this herbicide at every temperature. The observed differences in growth sensitivity to atrazine at low temperature are associated with the ability of algae and cyanobacteria to cope with high excitation pressure, by increasing its protective carotenoid content and non-photochemical energy dissipation. Our results demonstrate that future guidelines for the protection of aquatic life should consider water temperature as an important factor influencing the toxicity of atrazine to aquatic microorganisms.

In this study, the toxicity of pesticides extracted from the Yamaska River watershed surface waters were tested on three species of green algae (Chlorella vulgaris, Scenedesmus obliquus and Pseudokirchneriella subcapitata) by using slow and fast fluorescence kinetics (Maxi-Imaging-Pulse-Amplitude-Modulated and Plant Efficiency Analysis). Two types of extractions for a variety of herbicides and insecticides (organosphosphorous-type (OP) and phenoxyacid-type (PA)) were conducted on the water samples of three sites having different pesticide concentrations (‘Deborah Stairs’, ‘Riviere Noire’ and ‘Riviere a la Barbue’). Our results showed that of the three species of green algae studied, S. obliquus was the most sensitive to both pesticide extracts. Moreover, PA pesticide extracts from ‘Riviere a la Barbue’ were the most toxic since the algae exposed to those extracts had the lowest photosynthetic activity when evaluated by the PSII quantum yields (ΦM and ), the photochemical quenching (qP(REL)) and the electr...

It is generally claimed that glyphosate kills undesired plants by affecting the 5-enolpyruvylshikimate-3-phosphate synthase (EPSPS) enzyme, disturbing the shikimate pathway. However, the mechanisms leading to plant death may also be related to secondary or indirect effects of glyphosate on plant physiology. Moreover, some plants can metabolize glyphosate to aminomethylphosphonic acid (AMPA) or be exposed to AMPA from different environmental matrices. AMPA is a recognized phytotoxin, and its co-occurrence with glyphosate could modify the effects of glyphosate on plant physiology. The present review provides an overall picture of alterations of plant physiology caused by environmental exposure to glyphosate and its metabolite AMPA, and summarizes their effects on several physiological processes. It particularly focuses on photosynthesis, from photochemical events to C assimilation and translocation, as well as oxidative stress. The effects of glyphosate and AMPA on several plant physiological processes have been linked, with the aim of better understanding their phytotoxicity and glyphosate herbicidal effects.

Acid rain (AR) is a serious environmental issue inducing harmful impacts on plant growth and development. It has been reported that Liquidambar formosana, considered as an AR-sensitive tree species, was largely injured by AR, compared with Schima superba, an AR-tolerant tree species. To clarify the different responses of these two species to AR, a comparative proteomic analysis was conducted in this study. More than 1000 protein spots were reproducibly detected on two-dimensional electrophoresis gels. Among them, 74 protein spots from L. formosana gels and 34 protein spots from S. superba gels showed significant changes in their abundances under AR stress. In both L. formosana and S. superba, the majority proteins with more than 2 fold changes were involved in photosynthesis and energy production, followed by material metabolism, stress and defense, transcription, post-translational and modification, and signal transduction. In contrast with L. formosana, no hormone response-related protein was found in S. superba. Moreover, the changes of proteins involved in photosynthesis, starch synthesis, and translation were distinctly different between L. formosana and S. superba. Protein expression analysis of three proteins (ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase large subunit, ascorbate peroxidase and glutathione-S-transferase) by Western blot was well correlated with the results of proteomics. In conclusion, our study provides new insights into AR stress responses in woody plants and clarifies the differences in strategies to cope with AR between L. formosana and S. superba.

Phytoplankton has developed strategies, at the photosynthetic apparatus level, to cope with fluctuating light intensities found in their environment. These strategies will be reflected in energy dissipation via photochemical and nonphotochemical pathways. Nevertheless, even in presence of protection mechanisms excessive light can produce modification of the photosynthetic apparatus. By using Pulse-Amplitude-Modulated fluorometry and rapid rise fluorescence (PEA), we investigated the effect of high light intensity on a diatom, Cyclotella sp., Dark-adapted Cyclotella sp., previously exposed to high light intensity (1,000 μE m−2 s−1), demonstrated a strong diminution of FM fluorescence level compared to algae exposed to 75 μE m−2 sμ1. The use of NH4Cl, as an uncoupler which eliminates the pH gradient in thylakoid membranes, restored the FM level, therefore suggesting the presence of non- photochemical quenching. The mechanism, by which this non-photochemical quenching was build, was further studied by using different inhibitors of the photosynthetic and respiratory systems permitting to discuss about a possible model of energy dissipation processes, involving chlororespiration, triggered under strong light intensity.