Research

Publications
Title: Response of Antioxidant Enzyme Activities of the Green Microalga Chlorococcum sp. AZHB to Cu2+ and Cd2+ Stress
First author: Qiu, Changen; Wang, Weidong; Zhang, Yuheng; Zhou, Guang-Jie; Bi, Yonghong
Journal: SUSTAINABILITY
Years: 2022
Volume / issue: /
DOI: 10.3390/su141610320
Abstract: The green microalga Chlorococcum sp. AZHB, isolated from a wastewater treatment plant, can endure extremely environments contaminated by heavy metals, but little information is available about the physiological changes of microalgal cells after exposure to heavy metals. In this study, the response of antioxidant enzyme activities of this microalgal species were examined in batch cultures exposed to different concentrations of Cu2+ or Cd2+ for 10 days. The malondialdehyde (MDA) content and activities of peroxidase (POD) and superoxide dismutase (SOD) increased with the increasing concentration of Cu2+ and Cd2+ from 0 to 200 mg/L. The activity of catalase (CAT) increased with the increase in concentrations of Cu2+ and Cd2+ from 0-0.1 mg/L and 0-5 mg/L, respectively, and decreased from 0.1 mg/L Cu2+ and 5 mg/L Cd2+, respectively. Our results suggest that the defense mechanisms of Chlorococcum sp. AZHB to heavy metals should be involved in the improvement of the antioxidant enzyme activity in microalgal cells.