TY - JOUR

T1 - The effect of microplastics pollution in microalgal biomass production

T2 - A biochemical study

AU - Cunha, César

AU - Lopes, Joana

AU - Paulo, Jorge

AU - Faria, Marisa

AU - Kaufmann, Manfred

AU - Nogueira, Natacha

AU - Ferreira, Artur

AU - Cordeiro, Nereida

N1 - Funding Information: This research was supported by the European Territorial Cooperation Programme PCT-MAC 2014-2020 through project REBECA-CCT (MAC/1.1.B/269) and by the Oceanic Observatory of Madeira Project (M1420-01-0145-FEDER-000001). The authors acknowledge the Spanish Bank of Algae (BEA) for making the microalga available. Publisher Copyright: © 2020 Elsevier Ltd

PY - 2020

Y1 - 2020

N2 - Microplastics (MPs) are widely spread throughout aquatic systems and water bodies. Given that water quality is one of the most important parameters in the microalgal-based industry, it is critical to assess the biochemical impact of short- and long-term exposure to MPs pollution. Here, the microalga Phaeodactylum tricornutum was exposed to water contaminated with 0.5 and 50 mg L−1 of polystyrene (PS) and/or polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA). Results show that the microalgal cultures exposed to lower concentrations of PS displayed a growth enhancement of up to 73% in the first stage (days 3-9) of the exponential growth phase. Surprisingly, and despite the fact that long-term exposure to MPs contamination did not impair microalgal growth, a steep decrease in biomass production (of up to 82%) was observed. The production of photosynthetic pigments was shown to be pH-correlated during the full growth cycle, but cell density-independent in later stages of culturing. The extracellular carbohydrates production exhibited a major decrease during long-term exposure. Still, the production of extracellular proteins was not affected by the presence of MPs. This pilot laboratory-scale study shows that the microalgal exposure to water contaminated with MPs disturbs its biochemical equilibrium in a time-dependent manner, decreasing biomass production. Thus, microalgal industry-related consequences derived from the use of MPs-contaminated water are a plausible possibility.

AB - Microplastics (MPs) are widely spread throughout aquatic systems and water bodies. Given that water quality is one of the most important parameters in the microalgal-based industry, it is critical to assess the biochemical impact of short- and long-term exposure to MPs pollution. Here, the microalga Phaeodactylum tricornutum was exposed to water contaminated with 0.5 and 50 mg L−1 of polystyrene (PS) and/or polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA). Results show that the microalgal cultures exposed to lower concentrations of PS displayed a growth enhancement of up to 73% in the first stage (days 3-9) of the exponential growth phase. Surprisingly, and despite the fact that long-term exposure to MPs contamination did not impair microalgal growth, a steep decrease in biomass production (of up to 82%) was observed. The production of photosynthetic pigments was shown to be pH-correlated during the full growth cycle, but cell density-independent in later stages of culturing. The extracellular carbohydrates production exhibited a major decrease during long-term exposure. Still, the production of extracellular proteins was not affected by the presence of MPs. This pilot laboratory-scale study shows that the microalgal exposure to water contaminated with MPs disturbs its biochemical equilibrium in a time-dependent manner, decreasing biomass production. Thus, microalgal industry-related consequences derived from the use of MPs-contaminated water are a plausible possibility.

KW - Biomass

KW - Microalgae

KW - Microplastics contamination

KW - Phaeodactylum tricornutum

KW - Polymethyl methacrylate

KW - Polystyrene

U2 - 10.1016/j.watres.2020.116370

DO - 10.1016/j.watres.2020.116370

M3 - Journal article

C2 - 32906034

AN - SCOPUS:85090268275

VL - 186

JO - Water Research

JF - Water Research

SN - 0043-1354

M1 - 116370

ER -