Journal
SCIENTIFIC REPORTS
Volume 12, Issue 1, Pages -Publisher
NATURE PORTFOLIO
DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-08733-9
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Funding
- China Postdoctoral Science Foundation [2019M661766]
- Jiangsu Planned Projects for Postdoctoral Research Funds [2021K181B]
- Special Funds for Science and Technology Innovation of Sihong [H201925]
- Lianyungang Postdoctoral Science Foundation, Innovation and Entrepreneurship Training Program of Jiangsu Province [202011641078Y]
- Jiangsu Institute of Marine Resources Development Program [JSIMR202008]
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The effects of phenanthrene on two cosmopolitan phytoplankton species, Chlorella vulgaris and Skeletonema costatum, were negative, especially at high concentrations. However, the tolerance levels of the two species to phenanthrene varied, with Skeletonema costatum even showing stimulation at low concentrations.
The effects of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons on phytoplankton have been extensively documented, but there is limited knowledge about the physiological responses of marine primary producers to phenanthrene at environmentally relevant levels. Here, we investigated the toxicity of phenanthrene (0, 1, and 5 or 10 mu g L-1) to the physiological performance of two cosmopolitan phytoplankton species: the green alga Chlorella vulgaris and bloom-forming diatom Skeletonema costatum. The specific growth rates of both species were remarkably inhibited at both low (1 mu g L-1) and high phenanthrene concentrations (5 or 10 mu g L-1), while their tolerance to phenanthrene differed. At the highest phenanthrene concentration (10 mu g L-1), the growth of C. vulgaris was inhibited by 69%, and no growth was observed for S. costatum cells. The superoxide dismutase activity of both species was enhanced at high phenanthrene concentration, and increased activity of catalase was only observed at high phenanthrene concentration in C. vulgaris. Interestingly, the low phenanthrene concentration stimulated the photosynthetic and relative electron transport rates of S. costatum, whereas hormetic effects were not found for growth. Based on our results, phenanthrene could be detrimental to these two species at a environmentally relevant level, while different tolerance levels were detected.
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