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Gálvez-Blanca V, Edo C, González-Pleiter M, Fernández-Piñas F, Leganés F, Rosal R. Microplastics and non-natural cellulosic particles in Spanish bottled drinking water. Sci Rep 2024; 14:11089. [PMID: 38750101 PMCID: PMC11096351 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-62075-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/31/2024] [Accepted: 05/13/2024] [Indexed: 05/18/2024] Open
Abstract
This investigation explored the presence of microplastics (MPs) and artificial cellulosic particles (ACPs) in commercial water marketed in single use 1.5 L poly(ethylene terephthalate) bottles. In this work we determined a mass concentration of 1.61 (1.10-2.88) µg/L and 1.04 (0.43-1.82) µg/L for MPs and ACPs respectively in five top-selling brands from the Spanish bottled water market. Most MPs consisted of white and transparent polyester and polyethylene particles, while most ACPs were cellulosic fibers likely originating from textiles. The median size of MPs and ACPs was 93 µm (interquartile range 76-130 µm) and 77 µm (interquartile range 60-96 µm), respectively. Particle mass size distributions were fitted to a logistic function, enabling comparisons with other studies. The estimated daily intake of MPs due to the consumption of bottled water falls within the 4-18 ng kg-1 day-1 range, meaning that exposure to plastics through bottled water probably represents a negligible risk to human health. However, it's worth noting that the concentration of plastic found was much higher than that recorded for tap water, which supports the argument in favour of municipal drinking water.
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Affiliation(s)
- Virginia Gálvez-Blanca
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Universidad de Alcalá, 28871, Alcalá de Henares, Madrid, Spain
| | - Carlos Edo
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Universidad de Alcalá, 28871, Alcalá de Henares, Madrid, Spain
| | - Miguel González-Pleiter
- Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, 28049, Madrid, Spain
| | - Francisca Fernández-Piñas
- Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, 28049, Madrid, Spain
- Centro de Investigación en Biodiversidad y Cambio Global (CIBC-UAM), Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, C. Darwin 2, 28049, Madrid, Spain
| | - Francisco Leganés
- Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, 28049, Madrid, Spain
- Centro de Investigación en Biodiversidad y Cambio Global (CIBC-UAM), Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, C. Darwin 2, 28049, Madrid, Spain
| | - Roberto Rosal
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Universidad de Alcalá, 28871, Alcalá de Henares, Madrid, Spain.
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Verdú I, González-Pleiter M, Leganés F, Fernández-Piñas F, Rosal R. Leaching of herbicides mixtures from pre-exposed agricultural plastics severely impact microalgae. Chemosphere 2023; 326:138475. [PMID: 36958502 DOI: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2023.138475] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/06/2022] [Revised: 01/17/2023] [Accepted: 03/20/2023] [Indexed: 06/18/2023]
Abstract
Farmlands represent a source of aged plastics and pesticides to the surrounding environments. It has been shown that chemicals can be sorbed and desorbed from plastics, but the interaction between plastic and mixtures of pesticides and their effects on freshwater biota has not been assessed yet. The aim of the work was to assess the potential role of agricultural plastics as vectors for a mixture of two herbicides and the impact of the herbicide mixture lixiviated from them towards the freshwater microalga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii. Pristine and aged polyethylene plastics collected from agricultural areas were exposed to the herbicides, bifenox, oxyfluorfen and their mixtures. The microalgae were exposed for 72 h to the leachates desorbed from plastics and the effect was quantified in terms of total chlorophyll content and several physiological parameters assessed by flow cytometry. Our results showed that changes in physicochemical properties (hydroxyl and carbonyl index, hydrophobicity, texture) in aged plastics increased their capacity to retain and to desorb the herbicides. Microalgae exposed to leachates containing bifenox, oxyfluorfen, or their mixture showed reactive oxygen species overproduction, lipid peroxidation, membrane potential hyperpolarization, intracellular pH acidification, and a loss of metabolic activity. The toxicological interactions of the leachate mixture were assessed using the Combination Index (CI)-isobologram method showing antagonism at low effect levels turning to synergism when the effect increased. In this work, we proved the hypothesis that ageing increases the capacity of agricultural plastics to behave as vector for toxic chemicals to the biota.
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Affiliation(s)
- Irene Verdú
- Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, E-28049, Madrid, Spain
| | - Miguel González-Pleiter
- Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, E-28049, Madrid, Spain
| | - Francisco Leganés
- Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, E-28049, Madrid, Spain; Centro de Investigación en Biodiversidad y Cambio Global (CIBC-UAM), Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, C Darwin 2, 28049, Madrid, Spain
| | - Francisca Fernández-Piñas
- Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, E-28049, Madrid, Spain; Centro de Investigación en Biodiversidad y Cambio Global (CIBC-UAM), Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, C Darwin 2, 28049, Madrid, Spain
| | - Roberto Rosal
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Universidad de Alcalá, E-28871, Alcalá de Henares, Madrid, Spain.
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Tamayo-Belda M, Pérez-Olivares AV, Pulido-Reyes G, Martin-Betancor K, González-Pleiter M, Leganés F, Mitrano DM, Rosal R, Fernández-Piñas F. Tracking nanoplastics in freshwater microcosms and their impacts to aquatic organisms. J Hazard Mater 2023; 445:130625. [PMID: 37056024 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2022.130625] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/07/2022] [Revised: 12/14/2022] [Accepted: 12/16/2022] [Indexed: 06/19/2023]
Abstract
In this work, we used palladium-doped polystyrene NPLs (PS-NPLs with a primary size of 286 ± 4 nm) with an irregular surface morphology which allowed for particle tracking and evaluation of their toxicity on two primary producers (cyanobacterium, Anabaena sp. PCC7120 and green algae, Chlamydomonas reinhardtii) and one primary consumer (crustacean, Daphnia magna). the concentration range for Anabaena and C. reinhardtii was from 0.01 to 1000 mg/L and for D. magna, the range was from 7.5 to 120 mg/L.EC50 s ranged from 49 mg NPLs/L for D. magna (48hEC50 s) to 248 mg NPLs/L (72hEC50 s for C. reinhardtii). PS-NPLs induced dose-dependent reactive oxygen species overproduction, membrane damage and metabolic alterations. To shed light on the environmental fate of PS-NPLs, the short-term distribution of PS-NPLs under static (using lake water and sediments) and stirring (using river water and sediments) conditions was studied at laboratory scale. The results showed that most NPLs remained in the water column over the course of 48 h. The maximum percentage of settled particles (∼ 30 %) was found under stirring conditions in comparison with the ∼ 10 % observed under static ones. Natural organic matter increased the stability of the NPLs under colloidal state while organisms favored their settlement. This study expands the current knowledge of the biological effects and fate of NPLs in freshwater environments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Miguel Tamayo-Belda
- Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, E-28049 Madrid, Spain
| | | | - Gerardo Pulido-Reyes
- Eawag, Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology, Ueberlandstrasse 133, 8600 Duebendorf, Switzerland; Department of Environment and Agronomy, Spanish National Institute for Agricultural and Food Research and Technology (INIA-CSIC), Crta. de la Coruña, km 7.5, 28040 Madrid, Spain
| | - Keila Martin-Betancor
- Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, E-28049 Madrid, Spain
| | - Miguel González-Pleiter
- Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, E-28049 Madrid, Spain
| | - Francisco Leganés
- Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, E-28049 Madrid, Spain
| | - Denise M Mitrano
- Environmental Systems Science Department, ETH Zurich, 8092 Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Roberto Rosal
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Universidad de Alcalá, E-28871 Alcalá de Henares, Madrid, Spain
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Verdú I, Amariei G, Rueda-Varela C, González-Pleiter M, Leganés F, Rosal R, Fernández-Piñas F. Biofilm formation strongly influences the vector transport of triclosan-loaded polyethylene microplastics. Sci Total Environ 2023; 859:160231. [PMID: 36402321 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.160231] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/17/2022] [Revised: 11/11/2022] [Accepted: 11/13/2022] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
This study aimed at evaluating the influence of biofilm in the role of microplastics (MPs) as vectors of pollutants and their impact on Daphnia magna. To do this, virgin polyethylene MPs, (PE-MPs, 40-48 μm) were exposed for four weeks to wastewater (WW) from influent and effluent to promote biofouling. Then, the exposed PE-MPs were put in contact with triclosan. Finally, the toxicity of TCS-loaded and non-TCS loaded PE-MPs were tested on the survival of D. magna adults for 21 days. Results from metabarcoding analyses indicated that exposure to TCS induced shifts in the bacterial community, selecting potential TCS-degrading bacteria. Results also showed that PE-MPs were ingested by daphnids. The most toxic virgin PE-MPs were those biofouled in the WW effluent. The toxicity of TCS-loaded PE-MPs biofouled in the WW effluent was even higher, reporting mortality in all tested concentrations. These results indicate that biofouling of MPs may modulate the adsorption and subsequent desorption of co-occurring pollutants, hence affecting their potential toxicity towards aquatic organisms. Future studies on realistic environmental plastic impact should include the characterization of biofilms growing on plastic. Since inevitably plastic biofouling occurs over time in nature, it should be taken into account as it may modulate the sorption of co-occurring pollutants.
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Affiliation(s)
- Irene Verdú
- Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, E-28049 Madrid, Spain
| | - Georgiana Amariei
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Universidad de Alcalá, E-28871, Alcalá de Henares, Madrid, Spain
| | - Cristina Rueda-Varela
- Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, E-28049 Madrid, Spain
| | - Miguel González-Pleiter
- Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, E-28049 Madrid, Spain
| | - Francisco Leganés
- Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, E-28049 Madrid, Spain; Centro de Investigación en Biodiversidad y Cambio Global (CIBC-UAM), Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, C Darwin 2, 28049 Madrid, Spain
| | - Roberto Rosal
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Universidad de Alcalá, E-28871, Alcalá de Henares, Madrid, Spain
| | - Francisca Fernández-Piñas
- Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, E-28049 Madrid, Spain; Centro de Investigación en Biodiversidad y Cambio Global (CIBC-UAM), Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, C Darwin 2, 28049 Madrid, Spain.
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5
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Martínez-Campos S, González-Pleiter M, Rico A, Schell T, Vighi M, Fernández-Piñas F, Rosal R, Leganés F. Time-course biofilm formation and presence of antibiotic resistance genes on everyday plastic items deployed in river waters. J Hazard Mater 2023; 443:130271. [PMID: 36351347 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2022.130271] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/14/2022] [Revised: 10/17/2022] [Accepted: 10/25/2022] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
The plastisphere has been widely studied in the oceans; however, there is little information on how living organisms interact with the plastisphere in freshwater ecosystems, and particularly on how this interaction changes over time. We have characterized, over one year, the evolution of the eukaryotic and bacterial communities colonizing four everyday plastic items deployed in two sites of the same river with different anthropogenic impact. α-diversity analyses showed that site had a significant role in bacterial and eukaryotic diversity, with the most impacted site having higher values of the Shannon diversity index. β-diversity analyses showed that site explained most of the sample variation followed by substrate type (i.e., plastic item) and time since first colonization. In this regard, core microbiomes/biomes in each plastic at 1, 3, 6 and 12 months could be identified at genus level, giving a global overview of the evolution of the plastisphere over time. The measured concentration of antibiotics in the river water positively correlated with the abundance of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) on the plastics. These results provide relevant information on the temporal dynamics of the plastisphere in freshwater ecosystems and emphasize the potential contribution of plastic items to the global spread of antibiotic resistance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sergio Martínez-Campos
- Department of Analytical Chemistry, Physical Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, University of Alcalá, Alcalá de Henares, E-28871 Madrid, Spain
| | - Miguel González-Pleiter
- Department of Biology, Faculty of Sciences, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Cantoblanco, E-28049 Madrid, Spain
| | - Andreu Rico
- IMDEA Water Institute, Science and Technology Campus of the Universidad de Alcalá, Av. Punto Com 2, 28805 Alcalá de Henares, Madrid, Spain; Cavanilles Institute of Biodiversity and Evolutionary Biology, Universidad de Valencia, c/ Catedrático José Beltrán 2, Paterna, 46980 Valencia, Spain
| | - Theresa Schell
- IMDEA Water Institute, Science and Technology Campus of the Universidad de Alcalá, Av. Punto Com 2, 28805 Alcalá de Henares, Madrid, Spain
| | - Marco Vighi
- IMDEA Water Institute, Science and Technology Campus of the Universidad de Alcalá, Av. Punto Com 2, 28805 Alcalá de Henares, Madrid, Spain
| | - Francisca Fernández-Piñas
- Department of Biology, Faculty of Sciences, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Cantoblanco, E-28049 Madrid, Spain; Centro de Investigación en Biodiversidad y Cambio Global (CIBC-UAM), Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, C Darwin 2, 28049 Madrid, Spain
| | - Roberto Rosal
- Department of Analytical Chemistry, Physical Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, University of Alcalá, Alcalá de Henares, E-28871 Madrid, Spain
| | - Francisco Leganés
- Department of Biology, Faculty of Sciences, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Cantoblanco, E-28049 Madrid, Spain; Centro de Investigación en Biodiversidad y Cambio Global (CIBC-UAM), Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, C Darwin 2, 28049 Madrid, Spain.
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Tamayo-Belda M, Pulido-Reyes G, González-Pleiter M, Martín-Betancor K, Leganés F, Rosal R, Fernández-Piñas F. Identification and toxicity towards aquatic primary producers of the smallest fractions released from hydrolytic degradation of polycaprolactone microplastics. Chemosphere 2022; 303:134966. [PMID: 35588878 DOI: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2022.134966] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/17/2022] [Revised: 04/05/2022] [Accepted: 05/11/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
Bioplastics are thought as a safe substitute of non-biodegradable polymers. However, once released in the environment, biodegradation may be very slow, and they also suffer abiotic fragmentation processes, which may give rise to different fractions of polymer sizes. We present novel data on abiotic hydrolytic degradation of polycaprolactone (PCL), tracking the presence of by-products during 132 days by combining different physicochemical techniques. During the study a considerable amount of two small size plastic fractions were found (up to ∼ 6 mg of PCL by-product/g of PCL beads after 132 days of degradation); and classified as submicron-plastics (sMPs) from 1 μm to 100 nm and nanoplastics (NPs, <100 nm) as well as oligomers. The potential toxicity of the smallest fractions, PCL by-products < 100 nm (PCL-NPs + PCL oligomers) and the PCL oligomers single fraction, was tested on two ecologically relevant aquatic primary producers: the heterocystous filamentous nitrogen-fixing cyanobacterium Anabaena sp. PCC 7120, and the unicellular cyanobacterium Synechococcus sp. PCC 7942. Upon exposure to both, single and combined fractions, Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS) overproduction, intracellular pH and metabolic activity alterations were observed in both organisms, whilst membrane potential and morphological damages were only observed upon PCL-NPs + PCL oligomers exposure. Notably both PCL by-products fractions inhibited nitrogen fixation in Anabaena, which may be clearly detrimental for the aquatic trophic chain. As conclusion, fragmentation of bioplastics may render a continuous production of secondary nanoplastics as well as oligomers that might be toxic to the surrounding biota; both PCL-NPs and PCL oligomers, but largely the nanoparticulate fraction, were harmful for the two aquatic primary producers. Efforts should be made to thoroughly understand the fragmentation of bioplastics and the toxicity of the smallest fractions resulting from that degradation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Miguel Tamayo-Belda
- Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, E-28049, Madrid, Spain
| | - Gerardo Pulido-Reyes
- Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, E-28049, Madrid, Spain
| | - Miguel González-Pleiter
- Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, E-28049, Madrid, Spain
| | - Keila Martín-Betancor
- Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, E-28049, Madrid, Spain
| | - Francisco Leganés
- Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, E-28049, Madrid, Spain
| | - Roberto Rosal
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Universidad de Alcalá, E-28871, Alcalá de Henares, Madrid, Spain
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Sorasan C, Edo C, González-Pleiter M, Fernández-Piñas F, Leganés F, Rodríguez A, Rosal R. Ageing and fragmentation of marine microplastics. Sci Total Environ 2022; 827:154438. [PMID: 35276161 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.154438] [Citation(s) in RCA: 38] [Impact Index Per Article: 19.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/05/2022] [Revised: 03/05/2022] [Accepted: 03/06/2022] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
The generation of small fragments from the environmental ageing of microplastics (MPs) is still a poorly known process. This work addresses the fragmentation of MPs obtained from marine debris consisting of polyethylene and polypropylene (PE and PP in environmental mixture) and polystyrene (PS) after exposure to accelerated ageing by irradiation and mechanical stirring. Number particle size distribution in the 1-100 μm range was assessed by combining laser diffractometry with particle counts from flow cytometry. The results showed the generation of a high number of small MP particles, which reached 105-106 items/mg of plastic with most fragments <2 μm. The results showed that environmentally aged MPs give rise to a larger number of small MPs in a pattern consistent with progressive fragmentation in the three spatial dimensions. The proportion of small MPs was much higher than that found in current sampling campaigns, suggesting a severe underestimation of the environmental presence of small MPs. We also demonstrated the generation of nanoplastics (NPs) in the fraction <1 μm from irradiated runs. The results showed that the mechanism that produced nanoplastics (NPs) from MPs was irradiation, which yielded up to 1011-1013 NPs/g with particle size in the few hundreds of nm range. Our results are relevant for the assessment of fate and risk of plastic debris in the environment showing that the number of small plastic fragments produced during the ageing of MPs is much larger than expect from the extrapolation of larger size populations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Carmen Sorasan
- Department of Analytical Chemistry, Physical Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, University of Alcalá, Alcalá de Henares, E-28871 Madrid, Spain
| | - Carlos Edo
- Department of Analytical Chemistry, Physical Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, University of Alcalá, Alcalá de Henares, E-28871 Madrid, Spain
| | - Miguel González-Pleiter
- Department of Biology, Faculty of Sciences, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Cantoblanco, E-28049 Madrid, Spain
| | - Francisca Fernández-Piñas
- Department of Biology, Faculty of Sciences, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Cantoblanco, E-28049 Madrid, Spain
| | - Francisco Leganés
- Department of Biology, Faculty of Sciences, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Cantoblanco, E-28049 Madrid, Spain
| | - Antonio Rodríguez
- Department of Analytical Chemistry, Physical Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, University of Alcalá, Alcalá de Henares, E-28871 Madrid, Spain
| | - Roberto Rosal
- Department of Analytical Chemistry, Physical Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, University of Alcalá, Alcalá de Henares, E-28871 Madrid, Spain.
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Verdú I, Amariei G, Plaza-Bolaños P, Agüera A, Leganés F, Rosal R, Fernández-Piñas F. Polystyrene nanoplastics and wastewater displayed antagonistic toxic effects due to the sorption of wastewater micropollutants. Sci Total Environ 2022; 819:153063. [PMID: 35031361 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.153063] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/29/2021] [Revised: 01/05/2022] [Accepted: 01/07/2022] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
The knowledge about the interaction of nanoplastics with other aquatic pollutants and their combined effects on biota is very scarce. In this work, we studied the interaction between polystyrene nanoplastics (PS NPs) (30 nm) and the micropollutants in a biologically treated wastewater effluent (WW). The capacity of PS NPs to sorb micropollutants was studied as well as their single and combined toxicity towards three freshwater organisms: the recombinant bioluminescent cyanobacterium, Anabaena sp. PCC 7120 CPB4337; the duckweed, Spirodela polyrhiza and the cladoceran, Daphnia magna. The endpoints were the inhibition of bioluminescence, the growth inhibition of the aquatic plant and the immobilization of D. magna after 24, 72 and 48 h of exposure, respectively. Combination Index (CI)-isobologram method was used to quantify mixture toxicity and the nature of interactions. PS NPs sorbed a variety of chemicals present in WW as micropollutants in a range of tens of ng/L to μg/L. It was found that those pollutants with positive charge were the main ones retained onto PS NPs, which was attributed to the electrostatic interaction with the negatively charged PS NPs. Regarding the toxicological effects, single exposure to PS NPs affected the three tested organisms. However, single exposure to WW only had a negative impact on the cyanobacterium and S. polyrhiza with no observed toxicity to D. magna. Regarding PS NPs-WW combined exposure, a reduction of toxicity in comparison with single exposure was observed probably due to the sorption of micropollutants onto PS NPs, which resulted in lower bioavailability of the micropollutants. In addition, the formation of PS NPs-WW heteroaggregates was observed which could result in lower bioavailability of PS NPs and sorbed micropollutants, thus lowering toxicity. This study represents a near-realistic scenario approach to the potential sorption of wastewater pollutants onto nanoplastics that could alter the toxicological effect on the biota.
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Affiliation(s)
- Irene Verdú
- Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, E-28049 Madrid, Spain
| | - Georgiana Amariei
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Universidad de Alcalá, E-28871 Alcalá de Henares, Madrid, Spain
| | - Patricia Plaza-Bolaños
- CIESOL, Joint Centre of the University of Almería-CIEMAT, La Cañada de San Urbano, 04120 Almería, Spain
| | - Ana Agüera
- CIESOL, Joint Centre of the University of Almería-CIEMAT, La Cañada de San Urbano, 04120 Almería, Spain
| | - Francisco Leganés
- Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, E-28049 Madrid, Spain
| | - Roberto Rosal
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Universidad de Alcalá, E-28871 Alcalá de Henares, Madrid, Spain
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9
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González-Pleiter M, Velázquez D, Casero MC, Tytgat B, Verleyen E, Leganés F, Rosal R, Quesada A, Fernández-Piñas F. Microbial colonizers of microplastics in an Arctic freshwater lake. Sci Total Environ 2021; 795:148640. [PMID: 34246139 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.148640] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/16/2021] [Revised: 06/03/2021] [Accepted: 06/20/2021] [Indexed: 05/12/2023]
Abstract
Microplastics (MPs) have been found everywhere as they are easily transported between environmental compartments. Through their transport, MPs are quickly colonized by microorganisms; this microbial community is known as the plastisphere. Here, we characterized the plastisphere of three MPs, one biodegradable (PHB) and two non-biodegradables (HDPE and LDPE), deployed in an Arctic freshwater lake for eleven days. The plastisphere was found to be complex, confirming that about a third of microbial colonizers were viable. Plastisphere was compared to microbial communities on the surrounding water and microbial mats on rocks at the bottom of the lake. Microbial mats followed by MPs showed the highest diversity regarding both prokaryotes and eukaryotes as compared to water samples; however, for fungi, MPs showed the highest diversity of the tested substrates. Significant differences on microbial assemblages on the three tested substrates were found; regarding microbial assemblages on MPs, bacterial genera found in polar environments such as Mycoplana, Erythromicrobium and Rhodoferax with species able to metabolize recalcitrant chemicals were abundant. Eukaryotic communities on MPs were characterized by the presence of ciliates of the genera Stentor, Vorticella and Uroleptus and the algae Cryptomonas, Chlamydomonas, Tetraselmis and Epipyxis. These ciliates normally feed on algae so that the complexity of these assemblages may serve to unravel trophic relationships between co-existing taxa. Regarding fungal communities on MPs, the most abundant genera were Betamyces, Cryptococcus, Arrhenia and Paranamyces. MPs, particularly HDPE, were enriched in the sulI and ermB antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) which may raise concerns about human health-related issues as ARGs may be transferred horizontally between bacteria. This study highlights the importance of proper waste management and clean-up protocols to protect the environmental health of pristine environments such as polar regions in a context of global dissemination of MPs which may co-transport microorganisms, some of them including ARGs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Miguel González-Pleiter
- Departamento de Biología, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Cantoblanco, E-28049 Madrid, Spain
| | - David Velázquez
- Departamento de Biología, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Cantoblanco, E-28049 Madrid, Spain
| | - María Cristina Casero
- Departamento de Biogeoquímica y Ecología Microbiana, Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales, CSIC, E-28006 Madrid, Spain
| | - Bjorn Tytgat
- Laboratory of Protistology & Aquatic Ecology, Ghent University, Krijgslaan 281-S8, 9000 Gent, Belgium
| | - Elie Verleyen
- Laboratory of Protistology & Aquatic Ecology, Ghent University, Krijgslaan 281-S8, 9000 Gent, Belgium
| | - Francisco Leganés
- Departamento de Biología, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Cantoblanco, E-28049 Madrid, Spain
| | - Roberto Rosal
- Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Alcalá, E-28871 Alcalá de Henares, Madrid, Spain
| | - Antonio Quesada
- Departamento de Biología, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Cantoblanco, E-28049 Madrid, Spain
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10
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Sorasan C, Edo C, González-Pleiter M, Fernández-Piñas F, Leganés F, Rodríguez A, Rosal R. Generation of nanoplastics during the photoageing of low-density polyethylene. Environ Pollut 2021; 289:117919. [PMID: 34385135 DOI: 10.1016/j.envpol.2021.117919] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/24/2021] [Revised: 08/03/2021] [Accepted: 08/04/2021] [Indexed: 05/23/2023]
Abstract
In this work, we studied the hydrolytic and photochemical degradation of three low-density polyethylene (LDPE) materials, within the size range of microplastics (MP). The MPs were exposed to mechanical agitation and UV irradiation equivalent to one year of solar UVB + UVA in a stirred photoreactor. Flow cytometry was used to track the formation of small (1-25 μm) MPs by applying Mie's theory to derive the size of MP particles from scattering intensity readings. The calculation was based on a calibration with polystyrene (PS) beads. The results showed that the generation of 1-5 μm MP reached 104-105 MPs in the 1-25 μm range per gram of LDPE. ATR-FTIR and micro-FTIR measurements evidenced the formation of oxygenated moieties, namely hydroxyl, carbonyl, and carbon-oxygen bonds, which increased with irradiation time. We also found evidence of the production of a high number of nanoplastics (<1 μm, NPs). The Dynamic Light Scattering size of secondary NPs was in the hundreds of nm range and might represent up to 1010 NPs per gram of LDPE. Our results allowed the unambiguous spectroscopic assessment of the generation of NPs from LDPE under conditions simulating environmental exposure to UV irradiation and used flow cytometry for the first-time to track the formation of secondary MPs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Carmen Sorasan
- Department of Analytical Chemistry, Physical Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, University of Alcalá, Alcalá de Henares, E-28871, Madrid, Spain
| | - Carlos Edo
- Department of Analytical Chemistry, Physical Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, University of Alcalá, Alcalá de Henares, E-28871, Madrid, Spain
| | - Miguel González-Pleiter
- Department of Biology, Faculty of Sciences, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Cantoblanco, E-28049, Madrid, Spain
| | - Francisca Fernández-Piñas
- Department of Biology, Faculty of Sciences, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Cantoblanco, E-28049, Madrid, Spain
| | - Francisco Leganés
- Department of Biology, Faculty of Sciences, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Cantoblanco, E-28049, Madrid, Spain
| | - Antonio Rodríguez
- Department of Analytical Chemistry, Physical Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, University of Alcalá, Alcalá de Henares, E-28871, Madrid, Spain
| | - Roberto Rosal
- Department of Analytical Chemistry, Physical Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, University of Alcalá, Alcalá de Henares, E-28871, Madrid, Spain.
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11
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González-Pleiter M, Pedrouzo-Rodríguez A, Verdú I, Leganés F, Marco E, Rosal R, Fernández-Piñas F. Microplastics as vectors of the antibiotics azithromycin and clarithromycin: Effects towards freshwater microalgae. Chemosphere 2021; 268:128824. [PMID: 33176914 DOI: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2020.128824] [Citation(s) in RCA: 40] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/25/2020] [Revised: 10/10/2020] [Accepted: 10/27/2020] [Indexed: 05/07/2023]
Abstract
Water pollution due to microplastics (MPs) is recognized as a major anthropogenic impact. Once MPs reach the ecosystems, they are exposed to a variety of other pollutants, which can be sorbed on them, transported and eventually desorbed. In this work, we tested the hypothesis that MPs can behave as conveyors for delivering chemicals toxic to aquatic microorganisms by investigating the vector role of MPs of polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polylactic acid (PLA), polyoxymethylene (POM) and polystyrene (PS) to the macrolide antibiotics azithromycin (AZI) and clarithromycin (CLA). AZI and CLA were chosen, as they are included in the Watch List for EU monitoring concerning water policy by Decision (EU) 2018/840. MPs were loaded in contact with 500 μg/L of AZI or 1000 μg/L of CLA. Results showed that both antibiotics were sorbed on all tested MPs. The more hydrophobic AZI was sorbed in higher proportion than CLA. Both antibiotics were desorbed from MPs upon contact with water with percentages between 14.6 ± 2.6% for AZI and 1.9 ± 1.4% for CLA of the concentrations to which the MPs were initially exposed. Virgin MPs were not toxic to the cyanobacterium Anabaena sp. PCC7120. However, antibiotic-loaded MPs significantly inhibited the growth and chlorophyll content of the cyanobacterium. Most of the sorbed antibiotics became released upon contact with cyanobacterial cultures, which was the cause for the observed toxicity. Therefore, MPs can play a role as vectors of antibiotics in freshwaters systems affecting the basic trophic level of photosynthetic microorganisms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Miguel González-Pleiter
- Departamento de Biología, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Cantoblanco, E-28049, Madrid, Spain; Departamento de Ingeniería Química, Universidad de Alcalá, Alcalá de Henares, E-28871, Madrid, Spain.
| | - Alicia Pedrouzo-Rodríguez
- Departamento de Biología, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Cantoblanco, E-28049, Madrid, Spain
| | - Irene Verdú
- Departamento de Biología, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Cantoblanco, E-28049, Madrid, Spain
| | - Francisco Leganés
- Departamento de Biología, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Cantoblanco, E-28049, Madrid, Spain
| | - Eduardo Marco
- Departamento de Biología, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Cantoblanco, E-28049, Madrid, Spain
| | - Roberto Rosal
- Departamento de Ingeniería Química, Universidad de Alcalá, Alcalá de Henares, E-28871, Madrid, Spain
| | - Francisca Fernández-Piñas
- Departamento de Biología, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Cantoblanco, E-28049, Madrid, Spain
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12
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González-Pleiter M, Edo C, Aguilera Á, Viúdez-Moreiras D, Pulido-Reyes G, González-Toril E, Osuna S, de Diego-Castilla G, Leganés F, Fernández-Piñas F, Rosal R. Occurrence and transport of microplastics sampled within and above the planetary boundary layer. Sci Total Environ 2021; 761:143213. [PMID: 33162145 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.143213] [Citation(s) in RCA: 64] [Impact Index Per Article: 21.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/01/2020] [Revised: 10/19/2020] [Accepted: 10/20/2020] [Indexed: 05/27/2023]
Abstract
Nowadays, there is no direct evidence about the presence of microplastics (MPs) in the atmosphere above ground level. Here, we investigated the occurrence, chemical composition, shape, and size of MPs in aircraft sampling campaigns flying within and above the planetary boundary layer (PBL). The results showed that MPs were present with concentrations ranging from 1.5 MPs m-3 above rural areas to 13.9 MPs m-3 above urban areas. MPs represented up to almost one third of the total amount of microparticles collected. Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy allowed identifying seven types of MPs with the highest diversity corresponding to urban areas. Atmospheric transport and deposition simulations were performed using the HYbrid Single-Particle Lagrangian Integrated Trajectory (HYSPLIT) model. Air mass trajectory analyses showed that MPs could be transported more than 1000 km before being deposited. This pioneer study is the first evidence of the microplastic presence above PBL and their potential long-range transport from their point of release even crossing distant borders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Miguel González-Pleiter
- Departamento de Biología, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Cantoblanco, E-28049 Madrid, Spain; Departamento de Ingeniería Química, Universidad de Alcalá, Alcalá de Henares, E-28871 Madrid, Spain.
| | - Carlos Edo
- Departamento de Ingeniería Química, Universidad de Alcalá, Alcalá de Henares, E-28871 Madrid, Spain
| | - Ángeles Aguilera
- Centro de Astrobiología, CAB (INTA-CSIC), Torrejón de Ardoz, Spain
| | | | - Gerardo Pulido-Reyes
- Departamento de Biología, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Cantoblanco, E-28049 Madrid, Spain; Eawag, Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology, Ueberlandstrasse 133, 8600 Duebendorf, Switzerland
| | | | - Susana Osuna
- Centro de Astrobiología, CAB (INTA-CSIC), Torrejón de Ardoz, Spain
| | | | - Francisco Leganés
- Departamento de Biología, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Cantoblanco, E-28049 Madrid, Spain
| | - Francisca Fernández-Piñas
- Departamento de Biología, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Cantoblanco, E-28049 Madrid, Spain
| | - Roberto Rosal
- Departamento de Ingeniería Química, Universidad de Alcalá, Alcalá de Henares, E-28871 Madrid, Spain
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13
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Verdú I, González-Pleiter M, Leganés F, Rosal R, Fernández-Piñas F. Microplastics can act as vector of the biocide triclosan exerting damage to freshwater microalgae. Chemosphere 2021; 266:129193. [PMID: 33310522 DOI: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2020.129193] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/20/2020] [Revised: 12/01/2020] [Accepted: 12/02/2020] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
Despite the large number of recent studies on microplastics (MPs) and their ability to act as carriers of pollutants, the knowledge about the biological effects of MPs loaded with chemicals is scarce. The aim of this study was to evaluate the potential of MPs as vectors for the antimicrobial triclosan (TCS). For it, we tested low-density polyethylene (LDPE), polyamide (PA), polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polyoxymethylene (POM), polypropylene (PP), polystyrene (PS) and the biodegradable polylactic acid (PLA). Thus, chemical analysis of sorption and desorption of TCS by these MPs was evaluated. The effect of TCS-loaded MPs to Anabaena sp. PCC7120, a cyanobacterium model of primary producers in freshwater ecosystems, was investigated. Chemical analyses showed different capacity of sorption depending on the MP type, which was related to some of their physicochemical properties. PA (104.7 μg/g), POM (57.4 μg/g) and LDPE (18.3 μg/g) were the polymers that sorbed the highest amounts of TCS. Glass transition temperature of polymers and their physicochemical interaction with TCS explained the extent of sorption. Significant decreases were found in growth, 22.3%, 94.6% and 81.0%, and chlorophyll a content, 58.4%, 95.0% and 89.6%, of Anabaena when exposed to TCS-loaded LDPE, PA and POM beads, respectively, which were the only MPs displaying significant sorption-desorption of TCS, implying that these MPs could act as vectors of TCS towards freshwater microalgae. This finding is of fundamental relevance as microalgae are at the base of the aquatic trophic chain and support growth of upper organisms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Irene Verdú
- Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, E-28049, Madrid, Spain
| | - Miguel González-Pleiter
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Universidad de Alcalá, E-28871, Alcalá de Henares, Madrid, Spain
| | - Francisco Leganés
- Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, E-28049, Madrid, Spain
| | - Roberto Rosal
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Universidad de Alcalá, E-28871, Alcalá de Henares, Madrid, Spain
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14
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Martínez-Campos S, González-Pleiter M, Fernández-Piñas F, Rosal R, Leganés F. Early and differential bacterial colonization on microplastics deployed into the effluents of wastewater treatment plants. Sci Total Environ 2021; 757:143832. [PMID: 33246729 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.143832] [Citation(s) in RCA: 40] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/28/2020] [Revised: 11/02/2020] [Accepted: 11/03/2020] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
Microbial colonization of microplastics (MPs) in aquatic ecosystems is a well-known phenomenon; however, there is insufficient knowledge of the early colonization phase. Wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) effluents have been proposed as important pathways for MPs entry and transport in aquatic environments and are hotspots of bacterial pathogens and antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs). This study aimed at characterizing bacterial communities in the early stage of biofilm formation on seven different types of MPs deployed in two different WWTPs effluents as well as measuring the relative abundance of two ARGs (sulI and tetM) on the tested MPs. Illumina Miseq sequencing of the 16S rRNA showed significant higher diversity of bacteria on MPs in comparison with free-living bacteria in the WWTP effluents. β-diversity analysis showed that the in situ environment (sampling site) and hydrophobicity, to a lesser extent, had a role in the early bacterial colonization phase. An early colonization phase MPs-core microbiome could be identified. Furthermore, specific core microbiomes for each type of polymer suggested that each type might select early attachment of bacteria. Although the tested WWTP effluent waters contained antibiotic resistant bacteria (ARBs) harboring the sulI and tetM ARGs, MPs concentrated ARBs harboring the sulI gene but not tetM. These results highlight the relevance of the early attachment phase in the development of bacterial biofilms on different types of MP polymers and the role that different types of polymers might have facilitating the attachment of specific bacteria, some of which might carry ARGs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sergio Martínez-Campos
- Department of Analytical Chemistry, Physical Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, University of Alcalá, Alcalá de Henares, E-28871, Madrid, Spain
| | - Miguel González-Pleiter
- Department of Biology, Faculty of Sciences, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Cantoblanco, E-28049, Madrid, Spain
| | - Francisca Fernández-Piñas
- Department of Biology, Faculty of Sciences, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Cantoblanco, E-28049, Madrid, Spain
| | - Roberto Rosal
- Department of Analytical Chemistry, Physical Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, University of Alcalá, Alcalá de Henares, E-28871, Madrid, Spain
| | - Francisco Leganés
- Department of Biology, Faculty of Sciences, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Cantoblanco, E-28049, Madrid, Spain.
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15
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González-Pleiter M, Edo C, Velázquez D, Casero-Chamorro MC, Leganés F, Quesada A, Fernández-Piñas F, Rosal R. First detection of microplastics in the freshwater of an Antarctic Specially Protected Area. Mar Pollut Bull 2020; 161:111811. [PMID: 33157507 DOI: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2020.111811] [Citation(s) in RCA: 38] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/25/2020] [Revised: 10/23/2020] [Accepted: 10/23/2020] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
Microplastics have been found in all environmental compartments investigated so far, even reaching remote areas. However, their presence in Antarctic freshwaters has not been yet reported. Here, we investigated the occurrence of microplastics in a stream from an Antarctic Specially Protected Area (Byers Peninsula, Livingston Island - ASPA No. 126), which is subject to stringent environmental protection measures as a result of which it is considered a pristine international reference site for inland waters research. Our results showed the presence of three types of microplastics in a freshwater seasonal stream, namely four polyester fibers, one black and three transparent; two acrylic fibers, one transparent and one red; and two transparent polytetrafluoroethylene films. The length and width of these fibers and films were in the 400-3546 μm (average 1118 μm), and 10-1026 μm (average 199 μm) ranges respectively. The concentration of MP was 0.95 items/1000 m3 with estimated variability in the 0.47-1.43 items/1000 m3 range. This is the first report of the presence of microplastics in Antarctic freshwater with the uniqueness that it is an Antarctic Specially Protected Area, meaning that plastic pollution reached even the most remote and pristine environments in the planet.
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Affiliation(s)
- Miguel González-Pleiter
- Departamento de Biología, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Cantoblanco, E-28049 Madrid, Spain; Departamento de Ingeniería Química, Universidad de Alcalá, Alcalá de Henares, E-28871 Madrid, Spain
| | - Carlos Edo
- Departamento de Ingeniería Química, Universidad de Alcalá, Alcalá de Henares, E-28871 Madrid, Spain
| | - David Velázquez
- Departamento de Biología, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Cantoblanco, E-28049 Madrid, Spain
| | | | - Francisco Leganés
- Departamento de Biología, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Cantoblanco, E-28049 Madrid, Spain
| | - Antonio Quesada
- Departamento de Biología, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Cantoblanco, E-28049 Madrid, Spain
| | - Francisca Fernández-Piñas
- Departamento de Biología, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Cantoblanco, E-28049 Madrid, Spain
| | - Roberto Rosal
- Departamento de Ingeniería Química, Universidad de Alcalá, Alcalá de Henares, E-28871 Madrid, Spain.
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16
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Edo C, González-Pleiter M, Tamayo-Belda M, Ortega-Ojeda FE, Leganés F, Fernández-Piñas F, Rosal R. Microplastics in sediments of artificially recharged lagoons: Case study in a Biosphere Reserve. Sci Total Environ 2020; 729:138824. [PMID: 32361441 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.138824] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/24/2020] [Revised: 04/15/2020] [Accepted: 04/17/2020] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
We studied the occurrence of microplastics in sediments of artificially and non-artificially recharged lagoons from the network of endorheic wetlands called "La Mancha Húmeda", declared Biosphere Reserve by UNESCO. The particles sampled in this study covered the 25 μm-5 mm range. Films were the dominant microplastic typology in non-artificially recharged lagoons, while fibres and fragments were more abundant in those receiving wastewater. The concentration of microplastics in sediments reached up to 24.4 ± 5.2 microplastics/g, while plastic litter counts yielded <1 particle/g in non-wastewater receiving lagoons. Eleven types of plastic were identified using Micro-Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (micro-FTIR), the most abundant being the polyolefins polyethylene and polypropylene, and polyester and acrylic fibres. The statistical analysis of FTIR spectra confirmed the similarity between samples taken from recharged lagoons and wastewater treatment plant effluents. Overall, our results showed that endorheic lagoons are very sensitive to the accumulation of persistent pollutants, which include microplastics. The recharge of lagoons with wastewater effluents to maintain water levels, even if correctly treated according to current standards, is not a sustainable practice. Due to the closed character of endorheic basins, the continuous input of wastewater led to the accumulation of microplastics in sediments of wastewater receiving lagoons up to 40 times over non-recharged lagoons.
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Affiliation(s)
- Carlos Edo
- Department of Analytical Chemistry, Physical Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, University of Alcalá, Alcalá de Henares, E-28871 Madrid, Spain
| | - Miguel González-Pleiter
- Department of Analytical Chemistry, Physical Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, University of Alcalá, Alcalá de Henares, E-28871 Madrid, Spain
| | - Miguel Tamayo-Belda
- Departament of Biology, Faculty of Sciences, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Cantoblanco, E-28049 Madrid, Spain
| | - Fernando E Ortega-Ojeda
- Department of Analytical Chemistry, Physical Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, University of Alcalá, Alcalá de Henares, E-28871 Madrid, Spain; University Institute of Research in Police Sciences (IUICP), University of Alcalá, Alcalá de Henares, Madrid, Spain
| | - Francisco Leganés
- Departament of Biology, Faculty of Sciences, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Cantoblanco, E-28049 Madrid, Spain
| | - Francisca Fernández-Piñas
- Departament of Biology, Faculty of Sciences, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Cantoblanco, E-28049 Madrid, Spain
| | - Roberto Rosal
- Department of Analytical Chemistry, Physical Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, University of Alcalá, Alcalá de Henares, E-28871 Madrid, Spain.
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17
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González-Pleiter M, Velázquez D, Edo C, Carretero O, Gago J, Barón-Sola Á, Hernández LE, Yousef I, Quesada A, Leganés F, Rosal R, Fernández-Piñas F. Fibers spreading worldwide: Microplastics and other anthropogenic litter in an Arctic freshwater lake. Sci Total Environ 2020; 722:137904. [PMID: 32199389 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.137904] [Citation(s) in RCA: 91] [Impact Index Per Article: 22.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/17/2020] [Revised: 03/09/2020] [Accepted: 03/11/2020] [Indexed: 05/20/2023]
Abstract
We investigated the presence of microplastics and other anthropogenic litter in the sediments adhered to rocks of an Arctic freshwater lake at Ny-Ålesund (Svalbard Archipelago, 78°N; 11°E). Most of the sampled microparticles were fibers (>90%). The identification of polymer types and additives was performed by combining three spectroscopic techniques, namely Raman Microscopy, Fourier-Transform Infrared microspectroscopy (μFTIR) and Synchrotron Radiation μFTIR (SR-FTIR). SR-FTIR confirmed the presence of poly(ethylene terephthalate) fibers, while RAMAN spectroscopy provided evidence of fibers containing industrial additives. Our results estimated an average concentration of 400 microparticles/m2 of rocks identified as anthropogenic litter, which included an estimation of 90 microplastics/m2 identified as polyester fibers; the rest are mostly natural fibers with evidence of anthropogenic origin. Taken together, the results proved the occurrence of anthropogenic pollutants in remote polar areas. Their probable origin is the long range atmospheric transport.
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Affiliation(s)
- Miguel González-Pleiter
- Departamento de Biología, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Cantoblanco, E-28049 Madrid, Spain; Departamento de Ingeniería Química, Universidad de Alcalá, E-28871 Alcalá de Henares, Madrid, Spain
| | - David Velázquez
- Departamento de Biología, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Cantoblanco, E-28049 Madrid, Spain
| | - Carlos Edo
- Departamento de Ingeniería Química, Universidad de Alcalá, E-28871 Alcalá de Henares, Madrid, Spain
| | - Olga Carretero
- Instituto Español de Oceanografía (IEO), 36390 Vigo, Spain
| | - Jesús Gago
- Instituto Español de Oceanografía (IEO), 36390 Vigo, Spain
| | - Ángel Barón-Sola
- Departamento de Biología, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Cantoblanco, E-28049 Madrid, Spain
| | - Luis Eduardo Hernández
- Departamento de Biología, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Cantoblanco, E-28049 Madrid, Spain
| | - Ibraheem Yousef
- MIRAS-ALBA Synchrotron Light Source, E-08290 Cerdanyola del Vallès, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Antonio Quesada
- Departamento de Biología, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Cantoblanco, E-28049 Madrid, Spain
| | - Francisco Leganés
- Departamento de Biología, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Cantoblanco, E-28049 Madrid, Spain
| | - Roberto Rosal
- Departamento de Ingeniería Química, Universidad de Alcalá, E-28871 Alcalá de Henares, Madrid, Spain
| | - F Fernández-Piñas
- Departamento de Biología, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Cantoblanco, E-28049 Madrid, Spain.
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18
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Edo C, González-Pleiter M, Leganés F, Fernández-Piñas F, Rosal R. Fate of microplastics in wastewater treatment plants and their environmental dispersion with effluent and sludge. Environ Pollut 2020; 259:113837. [PMID: 31884217 DOI: 10.1016/j.envpol.2019.113837] [Citation(s) in RCA: 192] [Impact Index Per Article: 48.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/15/2019] [Revised: 12/10/2019] [Accepted: 12/16/2019] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
This work studied the occurrence of microplastics in primary and secondary effluents and mixed sludge of a WWTP as well as in processed heat-dried sludge marketed as soil amendment. Sampled microparticles were divided into fragments and fibres, the latter defined as those with cylindrical shape and length to diameter ratio >3. We showed the presence of 12 different anthropogenic polymers or groups of polymers with a predominance of polyethylene, polypropylene, polyester and acrylic fibres together with an important amount of manufactured natural fibres. The smaller sampled fraction, in the 25-104 μm range, was the largest in both primary and secondary effluents. Fibres displayed lower sizes than fragments and represented less than one third of the anthropogenic particles sampled in effluents but up to 84% of heat-dried sludge. The plant showed a high efficiency (>90%) in removing microplastics from wastewater. However, the amount of anthropogenic plastics debris in the 25 μm - 50 mm range still released with the effluent amounted to 12.8 ± 6.3 particles/L, representing 300 million plastic debris per day and an approximate load of microplastics of 350 particles/m3 in the receiving Henares River. WWTP mixed sludge contained 183 ± 84 particles/g while heat-dried sludge bore 165 ± 37 particles/g. The sludge of the WWTP sampled in this work, would disseminate 8 × 1011 plastic particles per year if improperly managed. The agricultural use of sludge as soil amendment in the area of Madrid could spread up to 1013 microplastic particles in agricultural soils per year.
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Affiliation(s)
- Carlos Edo
- Department of Analytical Chemistry, Physical Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, University of Alcalá, Alcalá de Henares, E-28871 Madrid, Spain
| | - Miguel González-Pleiter
- Department of Analytical Chemistry, Physical Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, University of Alcalá, Alcalá de Henares, E-28871 Madrid, Spain
| | - Francisco Leganés
- Departament of Biology, Faculty of Sciences, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Cantoblanco, E-28049 Madrid, Spain
| | - Francisca Fernández-Piñas
- Departament of Biology, Faculty of Sciences, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Cantoblanco, E-28049 Madrid, Spain
| | - Roberto Rosal
- Department of Analytical Chemistry, Physical Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, University of Alcalá, Alcalá de Henares, E-28871 Madrid, Spain.
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19
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Walter J, Leganés F, Aro EM, Gollan PJ. The small Ca 2+-binding protein CSE links Ca 2+ signalling with nitrogen metabolism and filament integrity in Anabaena sp. PCC 7120. BMC Microbiol 2020; 20:57. [PMID: 32160863 PMCID: PMC7065334 DOI: 10.1186/s12866-020-01735-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/02/2019] [Accepted: 02/24/2020] [Indexed: 02/02/2023] Open
Abstract
Background Filamentous cyanobacteria represent model organisms for investigating multicellularity. For many species, nitrogen-fixing heterocysts are formed from photosynthetic vegetative cells under nitrogen limitation. Intracellular Ca2+ has been implicated in the highly regulated process of heterocyst differentiation but its role remains unclear. Ca2+ is known to operate more broadly in metabolic signalling in cyanobacteria, although the signalling mechanisms are virtually unknown. A Ca2+-binding protein called the Ca2+ Sensor EF-hand (CSE) is found almost exclusively in filamentous cyanobacteria. Expression of asr1131 encoding the CSE protein in Anabaena sp. PCC 7120 was strongly induced by low CO2 conditions, and rapidly downregulated during nitrogen step-down. A previous study suggests a role for CSE and Ca2+ in regulation of photosynthetic activity in response to changes in carbon and nitrogen availability. Results In the current study, a mutant Anabaena sp. PCC 7120 strain lacking asr1131 (Δcse) was highly prone to filament fragmentation, leading to a striking phenotype of very short filaments and poor growth under nitrogen-depleted conditions. Transcriptomics analysis under nitrogen-replete conditions revealed that genes involved in heterocyst differentiation and function were downregulated in Δcse, while heterocyst inhibitors were upregulated, compared to the wild-type. Conclusions These results indicate that CSE is required for filament integrity and for proper differentiation and function of heterocysts upon changes in the cellular carbon/nitrogen balance. A role for CSE in transmitting Ca2+ signals during the first response to changes in metabolic homeostasis is discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Julia Walter
- Department of Biochemistry, Molecular Plant Biology, University of Turku, Tykistökatu 6A, 6. krs, 20520, Turku, Finland.,Present address: Department of Plant Sciences, Environmental Plant Physiology, University of Cambridge, Downing Street, Cambridge, CB2 3EA, UK
| | - Francisco Leganés
- Departamento de Biología, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Calle Darwin 2, 28049, Madrid, Spain
| | - Eva-Mari Aro
- Department of Biochemistry, Molecular Plant Biology, University of Turku, Tykistökatu 6A, 6. krs, 20520, Turku, Finland
| | - Peter J Gollan
- Department of Biochemistry, Molecular Plant Biology, University of Turku, Tykistökatu 6A, 6. krs, 20520, Turku, Finland.
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González-Pleiter M, Cirés S, Wörmer L, Agha R, Pulido-Reyes G, Martín-Betancor K, Rico A, Leganés F, Quesada A, Fernández-Piñas F. Ecotoxicity assessment of microcystins from freshwater samples using a bioluminescent cyanobacterial bioassay. Chemosphere 2020; 240:124966. [PMID: 31726608 DOI: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2019.124966] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/31/2019] [Revised: 09/03/2019] [Accepted: 09/24/2019] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
The hepatotoxic cyanotoxins microcystins (MCs) are emerging contaminants naturally produced by cyanobacteria. Yet their ecological role remains unsolved, previous research suggests that MCs have allelopathic effects on competing photosynthetic microorganisms, even eliciting toxic effects on other freshwater cyanobacteria. In this context, the bioluminescent recombinant cyanobacterium Anabaena sp. PCC7120 CPB4337 (hereinafter Anabaena) was exposed to extracts of MCs. These were obtained from eight natural samples from freshwater reservoirs that contained MCs with a concentration range of 0.04-11.9 μg MCs L-1. MCs extracts included the three most common MCs variants (MC-LR, MC-RR, MC-YR) in different proportions (MC-LR: 100-0%; MC-RR: 100-0%; MC-YR: 14.2-0%). The Anabaena bioassay based on bioluminescence inhibition has been successfully used to test the toxicity of many emerging contaminants (e.g., pharmaceuticals) but never for cyanotoxins prior to this study. Exposure of Anabaena to MCs extracts induced a decrease in its bioluminescence with effective concentration decreasing bioluminescence by 50% ranging from 0.4 to 50.5 μg MC L-1 in the different samples. Bioluminescence responses suggested an interaction between MCs variants which was analyzed via the Additive Index method (AI), indicating an antagonistic effect (AI < 0) of MC-LR and MC-RR present in the samples. Additionally, MC extracts exposure triggered an increase of intracellular free Ca2+ in Anabaena. In short, this study supports the use of the Anabaena bioassay as a sensitive tool to assess the presence of MCs at environmentally relevant concentrations and opens interesting avenues regarding the interactions between MCs variants and the possible implication of Ca2+ in the mode of action of MCs towards cyanobacteria.
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Affiliation(s)
- Miguel González-Pleiter
- Departamento de Biología, C/Darwin, 2, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, 28049, Madrid, Spain.
| | - Samuel Cirés
- Departamento de Biología, C/Darwin, 2, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, 28049, Madrid, Spain
| | - Lars Wörmer
- Organic Geochemistry Group, MARUM-Center for Marine Environmental Sciences, University of Bremen, Leobener Str. 8, 28359, Bremen, Germany
| | - Ramsy Agha
- Department of Ecosystem Research, Leibniz-Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries (IGB), Müggelseedamm 301, Berlin, 12587, Germany
| | - Gerardo Pulido-Reyes
- Departamento de Biología, C/Darwin, 2, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, 28049, Madrid, Spain
| | - Keila Martín-Betancor
- Departamento de Biología, C/Darwin, 2, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, 28049, Madrid, Spain
| | - Andreu Rico
- IMDEA Water Institute, Science and Technology Campus of the University of Alcalá, Avenida Punto Com 2, 28805, Alcalá de Henares, Madrid, Spain
| | - Francisco Leganés
- Departamento de Biología, C/Darwin, 2, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, 28049, Madrid, Spain
| | - Antonio Quesada
- Departamento de Biología, C/Darwin, 2, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, 28049, Madrid, Spain
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Hurtado-Gallego J, Pulido-Reyes G, González-Pleiter M, Salas G, Leganés F, Rosal R, Fernández-Piñas F. Toxicity of superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles to the microalga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii. Chemosphere 2020; 238:124562. [PMID: 31442774 DOI: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2019.124562] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/09/2019] [Revised: 07/22/2019] [Accepted: 08/09/2019] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
Superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (SPION) have been widely studied for different biomedical and environmental applications. In this study we evaluated the toxicity and potential alterations of relevant physiological parameters caused to the microalga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii (C. reinhardtii) upon exposure to SPION. The results showed dose-dependent toxicity. A mechanistic study combining flow cytometry and physiological endpoints showed a toxic response consisting of a decrease in metabolic activity, increased oxidative stress and alterations in the mitochondrial membrane potential. Additionally, and due to the light absorption of SPION suspensions, we observed a significant shading effect, causing a marked decrease in photosynthetic activity. In this work, we demonstrated for the first time, the internalization of SPION by endocytosis in C. reinhardtii. These results demonstrated that SPION pose a potential risk for the environment if not managed properly.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jara Hurtado-Gallego
- Departamento de Biología, Facultad de ciencias, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, 28029 Madrid, Spain
| | - Gerardo Pulido-Reyes
- Departamento de Biología, Facultad de ciencias, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, 28029 Madrid, Spain
| | - Miguel González-Pleiter
- Departamento de Biología, Facultad de ciencias, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, 28029 Madrid, Spain
| | - Gorka Salas
- IMDEA Nanociencia, C/Faraday 9, Cantoblanco, 28049 Madrid, Spain
| | - Francisco Leganés
- Departamento de Biología, Facultad de ciencias, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, 28029 Madrid, Spain
| | - Roberto Rosal
- Departamento de Ingeniería Química, Universidad de Alcalá, 28871, Alcalá de Henares, Madrid, Spain
| | - Francisca Fernández-Piñas
- Departamento de Biología, Facultad de ciencias, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, 28029 Madrid, Spain.
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Hurtado-Gallego J, Redondo-López A, Leganés F, Rosal R, Fernández-Piñas F. Peroxiredoxin (2-cys-prx) and catalase (katA) cyanobacterial-based bioluminescent bioreporters to detect oxidative stress in the aquatic environment. Chemosphere 2019; 236:124395. [PMID: 31545198 DOI: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2019.124395] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/24/2019] [Revised: 07/16/2019] [Accepted: 07/17/2019] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
The detection of oxidative stress caused by emerging pollutants in aquatic systems is essential to carry out toxicological analysis since they can bring us information about the mechanisms of toxic action of the pollutants, which might be useful to address this contamination. To achieve this goal, two self-bioluminescent strains that respond to oxidative stress based on the filamentous cyanobacterium Nostoc sp. PCC7120, which has a high ecological relevance in aquatic continental systems, have been constructed. Nostoc sp. PCC7120 pBG2172 harbours the promoter region of the 2-cys-prx gene (P2-cys-prx), encoding a cytoplasmic peroxiredoxin, fused to luxCDABE genes of the bacterium Photorhabdus luminescens. Nostoc sp. PCC7120 pBG2173 harbours the promoter region of the KatA gene (PkatA), a cytoplasmic catalase, also fused to luxCDABE genes. Both strains have been characterized by exposing them to H2O2: Nostoc sp. PCC7120 pBG2172 responded while Nostoc sp. PCC7120 pBG2173 did not respond to this pollutant. In order to know their specificity, they were exposed to methyl viologen (MV), an herbicide that produces superoxide anion (O2-) and a bioluminescence response was observed in both strains. Besides, the utility of these strains for the detection of H2O2 and MV in natural water samples, both pristine and wastewater samples has been tested by spiking experiments. Finally, the possible application of these strains for the detection of the emerging pollutant triclosan has also been tested showing to be suitable bioreporters to study oxidative stress in aquatic environments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jara Hurtado-Gallego
- Departamento de Biología, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, 28029, Madrid, Spain
| | - Arturo Redondo-López
- Departamento de Biología, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, 28029, Madrid, Spain
| | - Francisco Leganés
- Departamento de Biología, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, 28029, Madrid, Spain
| | - Roberto Rosal
- Departamento de Ingeniería Química, Universidad de Alcalá, 28871, Alcalá de Henares, Madrid, Spain
| | - Francisca Fernández-Piñas
- Departamento de Biología, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, 28029, Madrid, Spain.
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Martín-de-Lucía I, Gonçalves SF, Leganés F, Fernández-Piñas F, Rosal R, Loureiro S. Combined toxicity of graphite-diamond nanoparticles and thiabendazole to Daphnia magna. Sci Total Environ 2019; 688:1145-1154. [PMID: 31726545 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.06.316] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/19/2019] [Revised: 05/21/2019] [Accepted: 06/20/2019] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
Carbon-based nanomaterials exhibit unique properties that make them suitable for a wide variety of industrial and biomedical applications. In this work, we studied the acute toxicity of graphite-diamond nanoparticles (GDN) combined with the fungicide thiabendazole (TBZ) to the immobilization of the cladoceran Daphnia magna in the presence and absence of the micro green algae Raphidocelis subcapitata, supplied as food source. The toxicity of GDN to D. magna decreased in the presence of R. subcapitata, while that of TBZ increased, the latter suggesting a carrier effect to TBZ. GDN-TBZ mixtures were fitted to the most common conceptual models applied to mixture toxicity: Concentration Addition (CA), Independent Action (IA) and Combination Index (CI). For GDN-TBZ mixtures in the absence of food the best fit was obtained with dose ratio deviation from CA model, while in the presence of food, dose level deviation from CA gave a better fit. The binary mixtures of GDN and TBZ showed synergistic toxic interactions at low concentrations, which could be attributed to the increased bioavailability of TBZ adsorbed on GDN. For higher concentrations of GDN, the binary mixtures turned antagonistic due to particle agglomeration. Our study provides evidence that deviations from additivity are dose dependent and relevant for the risk assessment of mixtures of nanoparticles with other chemical pollutants.
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Affiliation(s)
- Idoia Martín-de-Lucía
- Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Alcalá, E-28871 Alcalá de Henares, Madrid, Spain
| | - Sandra F Gonçalves
- Department of Biology & CESAM, University of Aveiro, Campus Universitario de Santiago, 3810-193 Aveiro, Portugal
| | - Francisco Leganés
- Department of Biology, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, E-28049 Madrid, Spain
| | | | - Roberto Rosal
- Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Alcalá, E-28871 Alcalá de Henares, Madrid, Spain.
| | - Susana Loureiro
- Department of Biology & CESAM, University of Aveiro, Campus Universitario de Santiago, 3810-193 Aveiro, Portugal.
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Hurtado-Gallego J, Leganés F, Rosal R, Fernández-Piñas F. Use of Cyanobacterial Luminescent Bioreporters to Report on the Environmental Impact of Metallic Nanoparticles. Sensors (Basel) 2019; 19:E3597. [PMID: 31430858 PMCID: PMC6721232 DOI: 10.3390/s19163597] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/26/2019] [Revised: 08/06/2019] [Accepted: 08/12/2019] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Due to their ecological relevance, low cost, and easy maintenance, cyanobacteria have been used for bioreporter development. In this study, a battery of cyanobacterial bioreporters has been used to assess the ecotoxicity of four highly used metallic nanoparticles (NPs). The toxicity of these NPs was tested using the bioreporter Nostoc CPB4337 (Anabaena CPB4337). As oxidative stress is a primary toxic mechanism of metallic NPs, cyanobacterial reactive oxygen species (ROS)-detecting bioreporters were used. Metallic NPs release metal ions, which contribute to their toxic effect and the formation of ROS, so a metal-detecting bioreporter was also used to detect the bioavailable metals. The results confirm that ROS production by NPs was due to the NPs per se and not by released free-ions, which in fact were almost undetectable. Although the metal-detecting bioreporter could not detect the dissolved metal ions, it was able to detect the metallic NPs themselves, indicating that this bioreporter may be useful to detect them in the environment. ROS production varied depending on the growth medium or environmental matrices conditions and on the NP type. This work demonstrated the different levels of ROS production by metallic NPs and the importance of nanotoxicology studies in real matrices.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jara Hurtado-Gallego
- Departamento de Biología, Facultad de ciencias, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, 28029 Madrid, Spain
| | - Francisco Leganés
- Departamento de Biología, Facultad de ciencias, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, 28029 Madrid, Spain
| | - Roberto Rosal
- Departamento de Ingeniería Química, Universidad de Alcalá, 28871 Alcalá de Henares, Spain
| | - Francisca Fernández-Piñas
- Departamento de Biología, Facultad de ciencias, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, 28029 Madrid, Spain.
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Martín-de-Lucía I, Leganés F, Fernández-Piñas F, Rosal R. Hyperbranched polymeric nanomaterials impair the freshwater crustacean Daphnia magna. Environ Pollut 2019; 249:581-588. [PMID: 30933755 DOI: 10.1016/j.envpol.2019.03.078] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/19/2018] [Accepted: 03/19/2019] [Indexed: 06/09/2023]
Abstract
Hyperbranched polymers are nanomaterials belonging to the class of dendritic architectures with increasing applications in many diverse fields. We studied the toxicity of two hyperbranched polymers to the freshwater crustacean Daphnia magna. A hyperbranched hydroxyl-terminated polyester and a commercial hyperbranched polyamidoamine, Helux-3316 were tested for the acute immobilization of daphnids, the overproduction of reactive oxygen species and the activity of the antioxidant enzymes catalase and glutathione S-transferase. The effect for D. magna immobilization was higher for the hyperbranched polyamidoamine Helux-3316, which was attributed to the presence of primary amino groups on its surface. Following exposure to both hyperbranched polymers, a clear overproduction of reactive oxygen species took place accompanied by concentration-dependent enzymatic antioxidant response. Our results showed that the overproduction of reactive oxygen species activated antioxidant defence mechanisms and was responsible for the immobilization of daphnids exposed to both hyperbranched polymers. We showed evidence of the uptake of fluorescently labelled Helux-3316 that accumulated into the gastrointestinal tract of D. magna, and its removal via excretion within fecal pellets. This is the first work reporting the internalization of hyperbranched polymers in aquatic organisms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Idoia Martín-de-Lucía
- Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Alcalá, E-28871, Alcalá de Henares, Madrid, Spain
| | - Francisco Leganés
- Department of Biology, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, E-28049, Spain
| | | | - Roberto Rosal
- Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Alcalá, E-28871, Alcalá de Henares, Madrid, Spain.
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Edo C, Tamayo-Belda M, Martínez-Campos S, Martín-Betancor K, González-Pleiter M, Pulido-Reyes G, García-Ruiz C, Zapata F, Leganés F, Fernández-Piñas F, Rosal R. Occurrence and identification of microplastics along a beach in the Biosphere Reserve of Lanzarote. Mar Pollut Bull 2019; 143:220-227. [PMID: 31789157 DOI: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2019.04.061] [Citation(s) in RCA: 50] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/26/2019] [Revised: 04/24/2019] [Accepted: 04/24/2019] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
This work studied the accumulation of plastic debris in a remote beach located in La Graciosa island (Chinijo archipelago, Canary Islands). Microplastics were sampled in the 1-5 mm mesh opening range. An average plastic density of 36.3 g/m2 was obtained with a large variability along the 90 m of the beach (from 8.5 g/m2 to 103.4 g/m2). Microplastic particles preferentially accumulated in the part of the beach protected by rocks. A total number of 9149 plastic particles were collected, recorded and measured, 87% of which corresponded to fragments. Clear colours and microscopic evidence of weathering corresponded to aged plastics wind-driven by the surface Canary Current. The chemical composition of plastics particles corresponded to PE (63%), PP (32%) and PS (3%). Higher PE/PP ratios were recorded in the more protected parts of the beach, suggesting preferential accumulation of more aged fragments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Carlos Edo
- Department of Analytical Chemistry, Physical Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, University of Alcalá, Alcalá de Henares, E-28871 Madrid, Spain
| | - Miguel Tamayo-Belda
- Departament of Biology, Faculty of Sciences, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Cantoblanco, E-28049 Madrid, Spain
| | - Sergio Martínez-Campos
- Department of Analytical Chemistry, Physical Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, University of Alcalá, Alcalá de Henares, E-28871 Madrid, Spain
| | - Keila Martín-Betancor
- Departament of Biology, Faculty of Sciences, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Cantoblanco, E-28049 Madrid, Spain
| | - Miguel González-Pleiter
- Departament of Biology, Faculty of Sciences, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Cantoblanco, E-28049 Madrid, Spain
| | - Gerardo Pulido-Reyes
- Departament of Biology, Faculty of Sciences, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Cantoblanco, E-28049 Madrid, Spain
| | - Carmen García-Ruiz
- Department of Analytical Chemistry, Physical Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, University of Alcalá, Alcalá de Henares, E-28871 Madrid, Spain; University Institute of Research in Police Sciences (IUICP), University of Alcalá, E-28871 Alcalá de Henares, Madrid, Spain
| | - Félix Zapata
- Department of Analytical Chemistry, Physical Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, University of Alcalá, Alcalá de Henares, E-28871 Madrid, Spain
| | - Francisco Leganés
- Departament of Biology, Faculty of Sciences, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Cantoblanco, E-28049 Madrid, Spain
| | - Francisca Fernández-Piñas
- Departament of Biology, Faculty of Sciences, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Cantoblanco, E-28049 Madrid, Spain
| | - Roberto Rosal
- Department of Analytical Chemistry, Physical Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, University of Alcalá, Alcalá de Henares, E-28871 Madrid, Spain.
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Hurtado-Gallego J, Martín-Betancor K, Rodea-Palomares I, Leganés F, Rosal R, Fernández-Piñas F. Two novel cyanobacterial bioluminescent whole-cell bioreporters based on superoxide dismutases MnSod and FeSod to detect superoxide anion. Chemosphere 2018; 201:772-779. [PMID: 29550571 DOI: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2018.03.012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/07/2017] [Revised: 02/13/2018] [Accepted: 03/03/2018] [Indexed: 06/08/2023]
Abstract
This work describes the construction of two novel self-luminescent bioreporter strains of the cyanobacterium Nostoc sp. PCC 7120 by fusing the promoter region of the sodA and sodB genes (encoding the superoxide dismutases MnSod and FeSod, respectively) to luxCDABE from Photorhabdus luminescens aimed at detecting pollutants that generate reactive oxygen species (ROS), particularly O2-. Bioreporters were tested against methyl viologen (MV) as the inducer of superoxide anion (O2-). Both bioreporters were specific for O2- and Limits of detection (LODs) and Maximum Permissive Concentrations (MPCs) were calculated: Nostoc sp. PCC 7120 pBG2154 (sodA) had a range of detection from 400 to 1000 pM of MV and for Nostoc sp. PCC 7120 pBG2165 (sodB) the range of detection was from 500 to 1800 pM of MV after 5 h-exposure. To further validate the bioreporters, they were tested with the emerging pollutant Triclosan which induced bioluminescence in both strains. Furthermore, the bioreporters performance was tested in two real environmental samples with different water matrix complexity, spiked with MV. Both bioreporters were induced by O2- in these environmental samples. In the case of the river water sample, the amount of bioavailable MV as calculated from the bioreporters output was similar to that nominally added. For the waste water sample, the bioavailable MV concentration detected by the bioreporters was one order of magnitude lower than nominal. These differences could be due to MV complexation with organic matter and/or co-occurring organic contaminants. These results confirm their high sensitivity to O2- and their suitability to detect oxidative stress-generating pollutants in fresh-waters.
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Affiliation(s)
- J Hurtado-Gallego
- Departamento de Biología, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, 28049 Madrid, Spain
| | - K Martín-Betancor
- Departamento de Biología, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, 28049 Madrid, Spain
| | - I Rodea-Palomares
- Departamento de Biología, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, 28049 Madrid, Spain
| | - F Leganés
- Departamento de Biología, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, 28049 Madrid, Spain
| | - R Rosal
- Departamento de Ingeniería Química, Universidad de Alcalá, E-28871 Alcalá de Henares, Madrid, Spain
| | - F Fernández-Piñas
- Departamento de Biología, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, 28049 Madrid, Spain.
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Martín-Betancor K, Durand MJ, Thouand G, Leganés F, Fernández-Piñas F, Rodea-Palomares I. Microplate freeze-dried cyanobacterial bioassay for fresh-waters environmental monitoring. Chemosphere 2017; 189:373-381. [PMID: 28946071 DOI: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2017.09.030] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/19/2017] [Revised: 09/04/2017] [Accepted: 09/07/2017] [Indexed: 06/07/2023]
Abstract
Microorganisms have been very useful in environmental monitoring due to their constant sensing of the surrounding environment, their easy maintenance and low cost. Some freeze-dried toxicity kits based on naturally bioluminescent bacteria are commercially available and commonly used to assess the toxicity of environmental samples such as Microtox (Aliivibrio fischeri) or ToxScreen (Photobacterium leiognathi), however, due to the marine origin of these bacteria, they could not be the most appropriate for fresh-waters monitoring. Cyanobacteria are one of the most representative microorganisms of aquatic environments, and are well suited for detecting contaminants in aqueous samples. This study presents the development and application of the first freeze-dried cyanobacterial bioassay for fresh-water contaminants detection. The effects of different cell growth phases, cryoprotectant solutions, freezing protocols, rehydration solutions and incubation conditions methods were evaluated and the best combination of these parameters for freeze-drying was selected. The study includes detailed characterization of sensitivity towards reference pollutants, as well as, comparison with the standard assays. Moreover, long-term viability and sensitivity were evaluated after 3 years of storage. Freeze-dried cyanobacteria showed, in general, higher sensitivity than the standard assays and viability of the cells remained after 3 years of storage. Finally, the validation of the bioassay using a wastewater sample was also evaluated. Freeze-drying of cyanobacteria in 96-well plates presents a simple, fast and multi-assay method for environmental monitoring.
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Affiliation(s)
- Keila Martín-Betancor
- Department of Biology, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, 28049, Madrid, Spain.
| | | | | | - Francisco Leganés
- Department of Biology, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, 28049, Madrid, Spain
| | | | - Ismael Rodea-Palomares
- Department of Biology, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, 28049, Madrid, Spain
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Martín-Betancor K, Aguado S, Rodea-Palomares I, Tamayo-Belda M, Leganés F, Rosal R, Fernández-Piñas F. Co, Zn and Ag-MOFs evaluation as biocidal materials towards photosynthetic organisms. Sci Total Environ 2017; 595:547-555. [PMID: 28395270 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2017.03.250] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/13/2017] [Revised: 03/24/2017] [Accepted: 03/27/2017] [Indexed: 05/23/2023]
Abstract
In the present study, the biocidal activity of three different metal organic frameworks (MOFs) based on Co (Co-SIM1), Zn (Zn-SIM1) and Ag (Ag-TAZ) has been evaluated towards one green alga and two cyanobacteria. These organisms are present in fresh- and seawater and take part in the early stages of the biofouling process. The biocidal activity of these materials was evaluated by measuring chlorophyll a concentration and by inhibition zone testing. After 24h of exposure the three different MOFs caused >50% of chlorophyll a concentration inhibition towards both cyanobacteria, however, although the green alga presented a great sensitivity for Ag-TAZ (reaching 90% of chlorophyll a concentration inhibition), it was much more resistant to the rest of MOFs. Bioavailability of these metals was studied using ICP-MS, the chemical speciation program Visual MINTEQ, and a heavy metal bioreporter bioanalytical tool. We have elucidated that the biocidal activity presented by these MOFs was due to the dissolved metals released from them and more exactly, it depended on the bioavailability presented by these metal ions, which was closely related with the free ion concentration. This article highlights the potential use of different MOFs as biocidal material towards photosynthetic organisms and reveals important differences in the sensitivity between these organisms that should be taken into account in order to increase the biocidal spectrum of these materials.
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Affiliation(s)
- Keila Martín-Betancor
- Department of Biology, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, 28049 Madrid, Spain
| | - Sonia Aguado
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Universidad de Alcalá, Alcalá de Henares, 28871 Madrid, Spain
| | - Ismael Rodea-Palomares
- Department of Biology, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, 28049 Madrid, Spain
| | - Miguel Tamayo-Belda
- Department of Biology, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, 28049 Madrid, Spain
| | - Francisco Leganés
- Department of Biology, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, 28049 Madrid, Spain
| | - Roberto Rosal
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Universidad de Alcalá, Alcalá de Henares, 28871 Madrid, Spain
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González-Pleiter M, Rioboo C, Reguera M, Abreu I, Leganés F, Cid Á, Fernández-Piñas F. Calcium mediates the cellular response of Chlamydomonas reinhardtii to the emerging aquatic pollutant Triclosan. Aquat Toxicol 2017; 186:50-66. [PMID: 28249228 DOI: 10.1016/j.aquatox.2017.02.021] [Citation(s) in RCA: 41] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/13/2016] [Revised: 02/17/2017] [Accepted: 02/19/2017] [Indexed: 06/06/2023]
Abstract
The present study was aimed at investigating the role of intracellular free calcium, [Ca2+]c, in the early cellular response of the green alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii to the emergent pollutant Triclosan (13.8μM; 24h of exposure). There is a growing concern about the persistence and toxicity of this antimicrobial in aquatic environments, where non-target organisms such as C. reinhardtii, a primary producer of ecological relevance, might be severely impacted. A mechanistic study was undertaken which combined flow cytometry protocols, physiological as well as gene expression analysis. As an early response, Triclosan strongly altered [Ca2+]c homeostasis which could be prevented by prechelation with the intracellular calcium chelator BAPTA-AM. Triclosan induced ROS overproduction which ultimately leads to oxidative stress with loss of membrane integrity, membrane depolarization, photosynthesis inhibition and mitochondrial membrane depolarization; within this context, Triclosan also induced an increase in caspase 3/7 activity and altered the expression of metacaspase genes which are indicative of apoptosis. All these adverse outcomes were dependent on [Ca2+]c. Interestingly, an interconnection between [Ca2+]c alterations and increased ROS formation by Triclosan was found. Taken altogether these results shed light on the mechanisms behind Triclosan toxicity in the green alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii and demonstrate the role of [Ca2+]c in mediating the observed toxicity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Miguel González-Pleiter
- Departamento de Biología, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, 28049 Madrid, Spain
| | - Carmen Rioboo
- Laboratorio de Microbiología, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad da Coruña, Campus de A Zapateira s/n, 15008 A Coruña, Spain
| | - María Reguera
- Departamento de Biología, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, 28049 Madrid, Spain
| | - Isidro Abreu
- Departamento de Biología, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, 28049 Madrid, Spain
| | - Francisco Leganés
- Departamento de Biología, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, 28049 Madrid, Spain
| | - Ángeles Cid
- Laboratorio de Microbiología, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad da Coruña, Campus de A Zapateira s/n, 15008 A Coruña, Spain
| | - Francisca Fernández-Piñas
- Departamento de Biología, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, 28049 Madrid, Spain.
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Abstract
Intracellular free Ca2+, [Ca2+]i, is a key element of the cellular response to many abiotic and biotic stresses.
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Affiliation(s)
- M. González-Pleiter
- Department of Biology
- Facultad de Ciencias
- Universidad Autónoma de Madrid
- 28049 Madrid
- Spain
| | - F. Leganés
- Department of Biology
- Facultad de Ciencias
- Universidad Autónoma de Madrid
- 28049 Madrid
- Spain
| | - F. Fernández-Piñas
- Department of Biology
- Facultad de Ciencias
- Universidad Autónoma de Madrid
- 28049 Madrid
- Spain
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Pulido-Reyes G, Das S, Leganés F, Silva SO, Wu S, Self W, Fernández-Piñas F, Rosal R, Seal S. Hypochlorite scavenging activity of cerium oxide nanoparticles. RSC Adv 2016. [DOI: 10.1039/c6ra11131a] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
In this report, we provide evidence that specific synthesis of cerium oxide nanoparticles can scavenge the hypochlorite anion, which is a strong extracellular oxidant involved in the inflammatory processes.
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Affiliation(s)
- G. Pulido-Reyes
- Departamento de Biología
- Facultad de Ciencias
- Universidad Autónoma de Madrid
- Spain
| | - S. Das
- Advanced Materials Processing and Analysis Center
- NanoScience and Technology Center
- Materials Science and Engineering
- University of Central Florida
- Orlando
| | - F. Leganés
- Departamento de Biología
- Facultad de Ciencias
- Universidad Autónoma de Madrid
- Spain
| | - S. O. Silva
- Departamento de Ciências Básicas da Saúde
- Universidade Estadual de Maringá
- 87020-900 Maringá
- Brazil
| | - S. Wu
- Department of Applied Chemistry
- National Chiao Tung University
- Hsinchu
- Republic of China
| | - W. Self
- Burnett School of Biomedical Science
- College of Medicine
- University of Central Florida
- USA
| | - F. Fernández-Piñas
- Departamento de Biología
- Facultad de Ciencias
- Universidad Autónoma de Madrid
- Spain
| | - R. Rosal
- Departamento de Ingeniería Química
- Universidad de Alcalá
- Alcalá de Henares
- Spain
| | - S. Seal
- Advanced Materials Processing and Analysis Center
- NanoScience and Technology Center
- Materials Science and Engineering
- University of Central Florida
- Orlando
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Rodea-Palomares I, Makowski M, Gonzalo S, González-Pleiter M, Leganés F, Fernández-Piñas F. Effect of PFOA/PFOS pre-exposure on the toxicity of the herbicides 2,4-D, Atrazine, Diuron and Paraquat to a model aquatic photosynthetic microorganism. Chemosphere 2015; 139:65-72. [PMID: 26070144 DOI: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2015.05.078] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/12/2014] [Revised: 04/24/2015] [Accepted: 05/26/2015] [Indexed: 06/04/2023]
Abstract
Pre-exposure to the perfluorinated compounds (PFCs) perfluorooctano sulphonate (PFOS) or perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) on the toxicity of four herbicides of different types and modes of action towards the self-luminescent recombinant cyanobacterium Anabaena CPB4337 was evaluated. The rationale of the approach is that both PFOS and PFOA as surfactants are known to modify cell membrane properties and pre-exposure to them might alter herbicide toxicity towards the cyanobacterium. Anabaena CPB4337 was pre-exposed during 72h to PFOS or PFOA at a concentration below their no observed effect concentration (NOEC). After pre-exposure, cells were exposed to increasing concentrations of 2,4-D Atrazine, Diuron and Paraquat and the toxicity was compared to that of non-pre-exposed ones. The data clearly showed that PFCs pre-treatment significantly altered the toxicity of the tested herbicides. However the effects resulting from PFOA and PFOS pre-exposure were not homogeneous for all the herbicides. In general PFOA pre-exposure resulted in increased herbicide toxicity except for atrazine, while PFOS pre-exposure resulted in increased toxicity for paraquat and diuron, and reduced toxicity for atrazine with no significant effect on 2,4-D toxicity. The strongest modifying effect was found for paraquat whose toxicity doubled with PFOA pre-exposure. Further analysis of membrane properties by flow cytometry revealed that both PFOA and PFOS were able to modify membrane integrity and membrane potential of Anabaena CPB4337 at the concentrations used in the pre-exposure experiments. These results reveal relevant indirect effects of PFCs pollution with eco-toxicological implications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ismael Rodea-Palomares
- Departamento de Biología, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, E-28049 Madrid, Spain
| | - Marcin Makowski
- Departamento de Biología, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, E-28049 Madrid, Spain
| | - Soledad Gonzalo
- Departamento de Ingeniería Química, Universidad de Alcalá, E-28871, Alcalá de Henares, Madrid, Spain
| | - Miguel González-Pleiter
- Departamento de Biología, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, E-28049 Madrid, Spain
| | - Francisco Leganés
- Departamento de Biología, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, E-28049 Madrid, Spain
| | - Francisca Fernández-Piñas
- Departamento de Biología, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, E-28049 Madrid, Spain.
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Martín-Betancor K, Rodea-Palomares I, Muñoz-Martín MA, Leganés F, Fernández-Piñas F. Construction of a self-luminescent cyanobacterial bioreporter that detects a broad range of bioavailable heavy metals in aquatic environments. Front Microbiol 2015; 6:186. [PMID: 25806029 PMCID: PMC4353254 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2015.00186] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/15/2014] [Accepted: 02/19/2015] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
A self-luminescent bioreporter strain of the unicellular cyanobacterium Synechococcus sp. PCC 7942 was constructed by fusing the promoter region of the smt locus (encoding the transcriptional repressor SmtB and the metallothionein SmtA) to luxCDABE from Photorhabdus luminescens; the sensor smtB gene controlling the expression of smtA was cloned in the same vector. The bioreporter performance was tested with a range of heavy metals and was shown to respond linearly to divalent Zn, Cd, Cu, Co, Hg, and monovalent Ag. Chemical modeling was used to link bioreporter response with metal speciation and bioavailability. Limits of Detection (LODs), Maximum Permissive Concentrations (MPCs) and dynamic ranges for each metal were calculated in terms of free ion concentrations. The ranges of detection varied from 11 to 72 pM for Hg2+ (the ion to which the bioreporter was most sensitive) to 1.54–5.35 μM for Cd2+ with an order of decreasing sensitivity as follows: Hg2+ >> Cu2+ >> Ag+ > Co2+ ≥ Zn2+ > Cd2+. However, the maximum induction factor reached 75-fold in the case of Zn2+ and 56-fold in the case of Cd2+, implying that Zn2+ is the preferred metal in vivo for the SmtB sensor, followed by Cd2+, Ag+ and Cu2+ (around 45–50-fold induction), Hg2+ (30-fold) and finally Co2+ (20-fold). The bioreporter performance was tested in real environmental samples with different water matrix complexity artificially contaminated with increasing concentrations of Zn, Cd, Ag, and Cu, confirming its validity as a sensor of free heavy metal cations bioavailability in aquatic environments.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - M A Muñoz-Martín
- Department of Biology, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid Madrid, Spain
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Gonzalo S, Rodea-Palomares I, Leganés F, García-Calvo E, Rosal R, Fernández-Piñas F. First evidences of PAMAM dendrimer internalization in microorganisms of environmental relevance: A linkage with toxicity and oxidative stress. Nanotoxicology 2014; 9:706-18. [PMID: 25325159 DOI: 10.3109/17435390.2014.969345] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/07/2023]
Abstract
This article reports novel results on the toxic mechanisms of action of amine- and hydroxyl-terminated poly(amidoamine) (PAMAM) dendrimers toward microorganisms of environmental relevance, namely a cyanobacterium of the genus Anabaena and the green alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii. We used PAMAM ethylenediamine core dendrimers from generations G2 to G4, which displayed a positive charge, measured as ζ-potential, in culture media. All amine-terminated and most remarkably the G4 hydroxyl-terminated dendrimer inhibited the growth of both microorganisms. The effect on the growth of the green alga was significantly higher than that on the cyanobacterium. With concentrations expressed in terms of molarity, there was a clear relationship between dendrimer generation and toxicity, with higher toxicity for higher generation. Hormesis was observed for hydroxyl-terminated dendrimers at low concentrations. The cationic dendrimers and G4-OH significantly increased the formation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in both organisms. ROS formation was not related with the chloroplast or photosynthetic membranes and photosystem II photochemistry was unaffected. Cell damage resulted in cytoplasm disorganization and cell deformities and was associated to an increase in ROS formation and lipid peroxidation in mitochondria in the green alga; cell wall and membrane disruption with apparent loss of cytoplasmic contents was found in the cyanobacterium. It was determined for the first time that cationic PAMAM dendrimers were quickly and largely internalized by both organisms. These results warn against the generalization of the use of dendrimers, which may pose significant risk for the environment and particularly for primary producers which are determinant for the health of natural ecosystems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Soledad Gonzalo
- Departamento de Ingeniería Química, Universidad de Alcalá , Alcalá de Henares, Madrid , Spain
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Leganés F, Martínez-Granero F, Muñoz-Martín MÁ, Marco E, Jorge A, Carvajal L, Vida T, González-Pleiter M, Fernández-Piñas F. Characterization and responses to environmental cues of a photosynthetic antenna-deficient mutant of the filamentous cyanobacterium Anabaena sp. PCC 7120. J Plant Physiol 2014; 171:915-926. [PMID: 24913049 DOI: 10.1016/j.jplph.2014.03.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/23/2013] [Revised: 03/19/2014] [Accepted: 03/19/2014] [Indexed: 06/03/2023]
Abstract
The cyanobacterial phycobilisome (PBS) is a giant pigment-protein complex which harvests light energy for photosynthesis and comprises two structures: a core and peripheral rods. Most studies on PBS structure and function are based on mutants of unicellular strains. In this report, we describe the phenotypic and genetic characterization of a transposon mutant of the filamentous Anabaena sp. strain PCC 7120, denoted LC1, which cannot synthesize the phycobiliprotein phycocyanin (PC), the main component of the rods; in this mutant, the transposon had inserted into the cpcB gene (orf alr0528) which putatively encodes PC-β chain. Mutant LC1 was able to synthesize phycoerythrocyanin (PEC), a phycobiliprotein (PBP) located at the terminal region of the rods; but in the absence of PC, PEC did not attach to the PBSs that only retained the allophycocyanin (APC) core; ferredoxin: NADP+-oxidoreductase (FNR) that is associated with the PBS in the wild type, was not found in isolated PBSs from LC1. The performance of the mutant exposed to different environmental conditions was evaluated. The mutant phenotype was successfully complemented by cloning and transfer of the wild type complete cpc operon to mutant LC1. Interestingly, LC1 compensated its mutation by significantly increasing the number of its core-PBS and the effective quantum yield of photosystem II (PSII) photochemistry; this feature suggests a more efficient energy conversion in the mutant which may be useful for biotechnological applications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Francisco Leganés
- Departamento de Biología, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Madrid 28049, Spain
| | | | - M Ángeles Muñoz-Martín
- Departamento de Biología, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Madrid 28049, Spain
| | - Eduardo Marco
- Departamento de Biología, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Madrid 28049, Spain
| | - Alberto Jorge
- Departamento de Biología, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Madrid 28049, Spain
| | - Laura Carvajal
- Departamento de Biología, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Madrid 28049, Spain
| | - Teresa Vida
- Departamento de Biología, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Madrid 28049, Spain
| | - Miguel González-Pleiter
- Departamento de Biología, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Madrid 28049, Spain
| | - Francisca Fernández-Piñas
- Departamento de Biología, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Madrid 28049, Spain.
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Muñoz-Martín MA, Mateo P, Leganés F, Fernández-Piñas F. A battery of bioreporters of nitrogen bioavailability in aquatic ecosystems based on cyanobacteria. Sci Total Environ 2014; 475:169-179. [PMID: 23910393 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2013.07.015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/05/2013] [Revised: 07/02/2013] [Accepted: 07/03/2013] [Indexed: 06/02/2023]
Abstract
Cyanobacteria are the main primary producers and are responsible for the blooms and eutrophication processes caused by excess nutrients in surface waters. The aim of this paper is to use cyanobacteria to monitor the presence and bioavailability of different chemical species of nitrogen in freshwater. Cyanobacteria have mechanisms which can detect the presence of nutrients in their environment and can activate or repress specific genes, or operons, depending on nutrient bioavailability. Therefore, monitoring the expression of these genes can facilitate measurement of the availability of nutrients. To achieve this we have constructed self-bioluminescent reporter strains of the filamentous nitrogen-fixing cyanobacterium Nostoc sp. PCC 7120 expressing promoters of genes responsive to nitrogen fused to the luxCDABE operon. Three promoters were selected to direct the expression of luxCDABE: The first, the glnA promoter, is activated in the absence of combined nitrogen. We found that it responded linearly to the addition of known amounts of combined N in the range 50-500 μM NH₄(+) or NO₃(-). The second, the nirA operon promoter, turns on in the presence of nitrate being inhibited by ammonium. The bioreporter responded linearly in the range of 10-100 μM NO₃. The third, the gifA promoter, is activated in the presence of ammonium, responding linearly in the range 100-600 μM NH4(+). We also used a previously described strain of Synechococcus elongatus PCC 7942 expressing glnN (glutamine synthetase type III) fused to luxAB. We found that the glnN promoter responded linearly to the addition of known amounts of N in the range 50-500 μM NH₄(+) or NO₃(-). These cyanobacterial bioreporters were tested in real environmental samples (i.e. river waters) which confirmed their validity and showed a broad spectrum response. They are therefore useful in the detection of both total N-bioavailability and specific nitrogen species.
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Affiliation(s)
- M Angeles Muñoz-Martín
- Department of Biology, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Cantoblanco, 28049 Madrid, Spain.
| | - Pilar Mateo
- Department of Biology, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Cantoblanco, 28049 Madrid, Spain.
| | - Francisco Leganés
- Department of Biology, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Cantoblanco, 28049 Madrid, Spain.
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González-Pleiter M, Gonzalo S, Rodea-Palomares I, Leganés F, Rosal R, Boltes K, Marco E, Fernández-Piñas F. Toxicity of five antibiotics and their mixtures towards photosynthetic aquatic organisms: implications for environmental risk assessment. Water Res 2013; 47:2050-64. [PMID: 23399078 DOI: 10.1016/j.watres.2013.01.020] [Citation(s) in RCA: 426] [Impact Index Per Article: 38.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/10/2012] [Revised: 12/07/2012] [Accepted: 01/10/2013] [Indexed: 05/24/2023]
Abstract
The individual and combined toxicities of amoxicillin, erythromycin, levofloxacin, norfloxacin and tetracycline have been examined in two organisms representative of the aquatic environment, the cyanobacterium Anabaena CPB4337 as a target organism and the green alga Pseudokirchneriella subcapitata as a non-target organism. The cyanobacterium was more sensitive than the green alga to the toxic effect of antibiotics. Erythromycin was highly toxic for both organisms; tetracycline was more toxic to the green algae whereas the quinolones levofloxacin and norfloxacin were more toxic to the cyanobacterium than to the green alga. Amoxicillin also displayed toxicity to the cyanobacterium but showed no toxicity to the green alga. The toxicological interactions of antibiotics in the whole range of effect levels either in binary or multicomponent mixtures were analyzed using the Combination Index (CI) method. In most cases, synergism clearly predominated both for the green alga and the cyanobacterium. The CI method was compared with the classical models of additivity Concentration Addition (CA) and Independent Action (IA) finding that CI could accurately predict deviations from additivity. Risk assessment was performed by calculating the ratio between Measured Environmental Concentration (MEC) and the Predicted No Effect Concentration (PNEC). A MEC/PNEC ratio higher than 1 was found for the binary erythromycin and tetracycline mixture in wastewater effluents, a combination which showed a strong synergism at low effect levels in both organisms. From the tested antibiotic mixtures, it can be concluded that certain specific combinations may pose a potential ecological risk for aquatic ecosystems with the present environmentally measured concentrations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Miguel González-Pleiter
- Departamento de Biología, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Cantoblanco, E-28049 Madrid, Spain
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Rodea-Palomares I, Gonzalo S, Santiago-Morales J, Leganés F, García-Calvo E, Rosal R, Fernández-Piñas F. An insight into the mechanisms of nanoceria toxicity in aquatic photosynthetic organisms. Aquat Toxicol 2012; 122-123:133-143. [PMID: 22797055 DOI: 10.1016/j.aquatox.2012.06.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 67] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/02/2012] [Revised: 06/18/2012] [Accepted: 06/19/2012] [Indexed: 06/01/2023]
Abstract
The effect of nanoceria on two aquatic photosynthetic organisms of ecological relevance, a green alga and a cyanobacterium, is reported. The main bioenergetic process of these organisms, photosynthesis, was studied by measuring both oxygen evolution and chlorophyll a fluorescence emission parameters. Nanoceria significantly inhibited photosynthesis in the cyanobacterium in the entire range of concentrations tested (0.01-100 mg/L), while a dual effect of nanoceria was found in the green alga with slight stimulation at low concentrations and strong inhibition at the highest concentrations tested. Chlorophyll a fluorescence experiments indicated that nanoceria had a significant impact on the primary photochemical processes of photosystem II. The primary cause of the observed photosynthetic inhibition by nanoceria is an excessive level of ROS formation; the results indicated a strong generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) which caused oxidative damage, as evidenced by lipid peroxidation in both photosynthetic organisms. It is proposed that nanoceria can increase the production of hydrogen peroxide (a normal ROS by-product of light-driven photosynthesis) in both the green alga and the cyanobacterium; through an oxidative reaction, these ROS cause lipid peroxidation, compromising membrane integrity and also seriously impairing photosynthetic performance, eventually leading to cell death.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ismael Rodea-Palomares
- Departamento de Biología, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, E-28049, Madrid, Spain
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Rodea-Palomares I, Leganés F, Rosal R, Fernández-Piñas F. Toxicological interactions of perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS) and perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) with selected pollutants. J Hazard Mater 2012; 201-202:209-218. [PMID: 22177019 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2011.11.061] [Citation(s) in RCA: 78] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/22/2011] [Revised: 11/18/2011] [Accepted: 11/19/2011] [Indexed: 05/27/2023]
Abstract
The combined toxicity of the perfluorinated surfactants perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS), perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and several pollutants (Hg(2+), Cd(2+), 2,4-D, propylparaben, mitomycin C and furazolidone) has been examined with a bioluminescent cyanobacterial toxicity test. Hg(2+), Cd(2+), mitomycin C and furazolidone could be included in the "Acute aquatic hazard" category established in the Regulation (EC) No 1272/2008 being "very toxic to aquatic life". Toxicological interactions of PFOA, PFOS with these pollutants in binary, ternary and multicomponent mixtures were studied using the combination-index method. PFOA and PFOS showed an antagonistic interaction at the whole range of effect levels, this may explain in part the finding that PFOA and PFOS interacted in an inverse way with the organic pollutants; the relative hydrophobicity of the tested compounds would also explain this interaction pattern. The interaction of both PFOS and PFOA with heavy metals was mostly antagonistic, decreasing metal toxicity. With increasing complexity of the mixtures, the CI method predicted synergism at low to very low levels of effect; pollutant combinations at their mixture NOECs were tested and confirmed the predicted synergism.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ismael Rodea-Palomares
- Departamento de Biología, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Cantoblanco, 28049 Madrid, Spain
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Muñoz-Martín MA, Mateo P, Leganés F, Fernández-Piñas F. Novel cyanobacterial bioreporters of phosphorus bioavailability based on alkaline phosphatase and phosphate transporter genes of Anabaena sp. PCC 7120. Anal Bioanal Chem 2011; 400:3573-84. [PMID: 21533636 DOI: 10.1007/s00216-011-5017-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/18/2011] [Revised: 04/12/2011] [Accepted: 04/12/2011] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
There is heterogeneity in the way cyanobacteria respond to P starvation and subsequently how they adapt to environments with low or fluctuating P concentrations. In this study, we have fused the promoterless lux operon luxCDABE to the promoter regions of Anabaena sp. PCC 7120 phoA genes putatively encoding alkaline phosphatases, phoA (all2843) and phoA-like (alr5291) and to the promoter region of one operon putatively encoding a high affinity phosphate transporter pst1 (all4575-4572). The self-bioluminescent strains constructed in this way, Anabaena AP (phoA promoter), Anabaena AP-L (phoA-like promoter), and Anabaena PST (pst1 promoter) have been used to study the expression of these genes in response to P starvation and P re-feeding with inorganic and organic phosphate sources. Our data showed that the pst1 promoter was activated at much higher level than the phoA-like promoter following P starvation; however, we did not observe activation of the phoA promoter. The P re-feeding experiments revealed that both strains, Anabaena (A.) PST and A. AP-L could be used as novel bioreporters of P availability in environmental samples. Both strains were used to estimate bioavailable P in environmental samples (fresh- and wastewaters) with a wide range of soluble P concentrations. The results indicated that most of the P in the water samples was in chemical forms available to the cyanobacterium; however there were some differences in the estimates given by both strains as A. PST appeared to be more adequate for the samples with the lowest P load while A. AP-L gave similar or even higher values of P concentrations than those chemically measured in samples with higher P load.
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Mateo P, Perona E, Berrendero E, Leganés F, Martín M, Golubić S. Life cycle as a stable trait in the evaluation of diversity of Nostoc from biofilms in rivers. FEMS Microbiol Ecol 2011; 76:185-98. [PMID: 21223333 DOI: 10.1111/j.1574-6941.2010.01040.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
The diversity within the genus Nostoc is still controversial and more studies are needed to clarify its heterogeneity. Macroscopic species have been extensively studied and discussed; however, the microscopic forms of the genus, especially those from running waters, are poorly known and likely represented by many more species than currently described. Nostoc isolates from biofilms of two Spanish calcareous rivers were characterized comparing the morphology and life cycle in two culture media with different levels of nutrients and also comparing the 16S rRNA gene sequences. The results showed that trichome shape and cellular dimensions varied considerably depending on the culture media used, whereas the characteristics expressed in the course of the life cycle remained stable for each strain independent of the culture conditions. Molecular phylogenetic analysis confirmed the distinction between the studied strains established on morphological grounds. A balanced approach to the evaluation of diversity of Nostoc in the service of autecological studies requires both genotypic information and the evaluation of stable traits. The results of this study show that 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity serves as an important criterion for characterizing Nostoc strains and is consistent with stable attributes, such as the life cycle.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pilar Mateo
- Departamento de Biología, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Madrid, Spain.
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Rodea-Palomares I, Boltes K, Fernández-Piñas F, Leganés F, García-Calvo E, Santiago J, Rosal R. Physicochemical characterization and ecotoxicological assessment of CeO2 nanoparticles using two aquatic microorganisms. Toxicol Sci 2010; 119:135-45. [PMID: 20929986 DOI: 10.1093/toxsci/kfq311] [Citation(s) in RCA: 148] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
The physicochemical properties of nanoparticles determine their interaction with living organisms. Four different cerium oxide nanoparticles, including commercial materials, were characterized and compared with a micron-sized ceria. The formation of aggregates as well as ζ-potential, surface area, and chemical composition were determined. The formation of primary particle aggregates was a slow process that led to different particle sizes depending on the composition of the medium. In this paper, we describe the toxicity of cerium oxide for the self-luminescent cyanobacterial recombinant strain Anabaena CPB4337 and the green alga Pseudokirchneriella subcapitata. The toxicity for Anabaena exposed to nanoparticles in pure water for 24 h ranged from 0.27 to 6.3 mg/l; P. subcapitata EC(50) (yielded effective concentration of nanoparticles that inhibits the cellular function of interest by 50%) values in the 2.4-29.6 mg/l range. Images of both organisms showed membrane disruption and highly damaged cells. Free cerium was highly toxic for both organisms, but the negligible amount found dissolved in the nanoparticle suspensions could not explain the observed toxic effect of nanoceria on the aquatic organisms; the dissolution of zinc could contribute to the toxicity of bulk material but could not explain the toxic effect of nanoceria either. We found no evidence of nanoparticle uptake by cells, but our observations suggested that their toxic mode of action required direct contact between nanoparticles and cells; in the case of the cyanobacterium, cells completely coated by layers of ceria nanoparticles were observed. Cell damage most probably took place by cell wall and membrane disruption; further research is needed to find out whether the oxidative activity of ceria could be responsible.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ismael Rodea-Palomares
- Departamento de Biología, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, E-28049 Madrid, Spain
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Rosal R, Rodea-Palomares I, Boltes K, Fernández-Piñas F, Leganés F, Petre A. Ecotoxicological assessment of surfactants in the aquatic environment: combined toxicity of docusate sodium with chlorinated pollutants. Chemosphere 2010; 81:288-93. [PMID: 20579683 DOI: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2010.05.050] [Citation(s) in RCA: 84] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/05/2010] [Revised: 05/25/2010] [Accepted: 05/30/2010] [Indexed: 05/05/2023]
Abstract
The toxicity of perfluorinated surfactants perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS), perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), perfluorobutane sulfonate (PFBS) and PF-656 as well as the sulfosuccinate surfactant docusate sodium has been examined using two bioluminescence inhibition assays based on the marine bacterium Vibrio fischeri and the self-luminescent cyanobacterial recombinant strain Anabaena CPB4337. We also determined multigenerational toxicity towards the growth of the algae Pseudokirchneriella subcapitata. With EC(50) values in the 43-75 mg/L range, docusate sodium exhibited a higher toxicity towards the three organisms than PFOS, PFOA, PF-656 and PFBS. We investigated the toxicological interactions of the most toxic surfactant, docusate sodium, with two chlorinated compounds, triclosan and 2,4,6-trichlorophenol (TCP), in their binary and ternary mixtures using the method of the combination index based on the median-effect equation. In general, the binary mixture of the chlorinated compounds triclosan and TCP exhibited antagonism, which was stronger for the growth test using P. subcapitata. Except for the green alga, the binary mixtures of docusate sodium with TCP or triclosan showed synergism at medium to high effect levels; the synergistic behaviour predominating in the ternary mixture and in the three tested species. This result highlights the potential toxicological risk associated with the co-occurrence of this surfactant with other pollutants.
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Affiliation(s)
- Roberto Rosal
- Departamento de Ingeniería Química, Universidad de Alcalá, E-28871, Alcalá de Henares, Madrid, Spain.
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Rosal R, Rodea-Palomares I, Boltes K, Fernández-Piñas F, Leganés F, Gonzalo S, Petre A. Ecotoxicity assessment of lipid regulators in water and biologically treated wastewater using three aquatic organisms. Environ Sci Pollut Res Int 2010; 17:135-144. [PMID: 19333638 DOI: 10.1007/s11356-009-0137-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/30/2008] [Accepted: 03/09/2009] [Indexed: 05/27/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND, AIM, AND SCOPE The high consumption of blood lipid regulators is leading to frequent reports of the occurrence of fibrates in natural streams and wastewater effluents. This paper describes a study undertaken to evaluate the acute toxicity of bezafibrate, clofibric acid, gemfibrozil, and fenofibric acid, a metabolite of fenofibrate whose ecotoxicity has not been previously reported. MATERIALS AND METHODS The bioassays used were based on Vibrio fischeri, Daphnia magna, and Anabaena CPB4337 tests. Anabaena CPB4337 is a novel bioassay based on Anabaena sp. PCC 7120 strain CPB4337 bearing in the chromosome a Tn5 derivative with luxCDABE from the luminescent terrestrial bacterium Photorhabdus luminescens. RESULTS The higher toxicity corresponded to fenofibric acid, with EC(50) as low as 1.72 mg/l for V. fischeri. Gemfibrozil was also toxic for Anabaena sp. with EC(50) of 4.42 mg/l. The study reports the results from toxicity tests using fortified real wastewater samples taken from the effluent of a wastewater treatment plant. The wastewater itself was found to be very toxic to Anabaena CPB4337 (84% of bioluminescence inhibition) whereas it did not have any negative effect on D. magna or V. fischeri. On the contrary, V. fischeri luminescence exhibited a stimulatory effect in wastewater. DISCUSSION Except for fenofibric acid, the Anabaena bioassay was more sensitive than the D. magna and V. fischeri bioassays to bezafibrate, clofibric acid, and gemfibrozil. For the three toxicity tests, fortification resulted in lower measured toxicity for the four compounds, probably indicating a reduced bioavailability due to the interaction with other chemicals in the wastewater or with particulate matter. The observed decrease in toxicity associated to the use of a wastewater matrix was higher for the more hydrophobic compounds reaching one order of magnitude for bezafibrate and gemfibrozil. CONCLUSIONS The Anabaena CPB4337 bioassay revealed a certain risk associated with the three less toxic compounds tested. Based on V. fischeri and D. magna bioassays, bezafibrate and gemfibrozil would have been considered non-toxic and harmful, respectively. The use of EC(50) data measured in wastewater increases the risk estimation. RECOMMENDATIONS AND PERSPECTIVES Cyanobacteria, as primary producers with a key role in the carbon and nitrogen cycles, are a substantial component of the microbial food webs. Any detrimental effect on this group may have a negative impact in nutrient availability to organisms of higher trophic levels and should be considered in ecotoxicity assessment tests.
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Affiliation(s)
- Roberto Rosal
- Departamento de Ingeniería Química, Universidad de Alcalá, 28871 Alcalá de Henares, Madrid, Spain.
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Rodea-Palomares I, Petre AL, Boltes K, Leganés F, Perdigón-Melón JA, Rosal R, Fernández-Piñas F. Application of the combination index (CI)-isobologram equation to study the toxicological interactions of lipid regulators in two aquatic bioluminescent organisms. Water Res 2010; 44:427-438. [PMID: 19683324 DOI: 10.1016/j.watres.2009.07.026] [Citation(s) in RCA: 104] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/26/2009] [Revised: 07/13/2009] [Accepted: 07/18/2009] [Indexed: 05/28/2023]
Abstract
Pharmaceuticals in the aquatic environment do not appear singly and usually occur as complex mixtures, whose combined effect may exhibit toxicity to the aquatic biota. We report an environmental application of the combination index (CI)-isobologram equation, a method widely used in pharmacology to study drug interactions, to determine the nature of toxicological interactions of three fibrates toward two aquatic bioluminescent organisms, Vibrio fischeri and the self-luminescent cyanobacterial recombinant strain Anabaena CPB4337. The combination index-isobologram equation method allows computerized quantitation of synergism, additive effect and antagonism. In the Vibrio test, the fibrate combinations showed antagonism at low effect levels that turned into an additive effect or synergism at higher effect levels; by contrast, in the Anabaena test, the fibrate combinations showed a strong synergism at the lowest effect levels and a very strong antagonism at high effect levels. We also evaluated the nature of the interactions of the three fibrates with a real wastewater sample in the cyanobacterial test. We propose that the combination index-isobologram equation method can serve as a useful tool in ecotoxicological assessment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ismael Rodea-Palomares
- Departamento de Biología, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, 2 Darwin Street, Cantoblanco, 28049 Madrid, Spain
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Rodea-Palomares I, González-García C, Leganés F, Fernández-Piñas F. Effect of pH, EDTA, and anions on heavy metal toxicity toward a bioluminescent cyanobacterial bioreporter. Arch Environ Contam Toxicol 2009; 57:477-487. [PMID: 19169738 DOI: 10.1007/s00244-008-9280-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/20/2008] [Accepted: 12/22/2008] [Indexed: 05/27/2023]
Abstract
The bioavailability and therefore toxicity of a metal depends on the chemical species present in a particular environment. We evaluated the effect of a series of factors that could potentially modify metal speciation on the toxicity of Hg, Cu, Zn, and Cd toward a recombinant strain of the freshwater cyanobacterium Anabaena sp. PCC 7120 with cloned lux operon of luminescent terrestrial bacterium Photorhabdus luminescens. The strain, denoted as Anabaena CPB4337, showed a high constitutive luminescence with no need to add exogenous aldehyde. The tested factors were pH, EDTA (as organic ligand), and anions PO(4)(3-), CO(3)(2-), and Cl(-). Chemical modeling and correlation analyses were used to predict metal speciation and link it with toxicity. In general, metal toxicity significantly correlated to the predicted metal free-ion concentration, although Zn-EDTA complexes and certain Hg chloro-complexes could also exhibit some toxicity to cyanobacteria. An interesting feature of metal toxicity to strain Anabaena CPB4337 was that low amounts of PO(4)(3-) and CO(3)(2-) increased metal toxicity; this effect could not be related to significant changes in metal speciation and could be attributed to a modulating effect of these anions on metal/uptake toxicity. The combination of toxicity studies that take into account a range of factors that might modulate metal toxicity with chemical modeling to predict changes in metal speciation might be useful for interpreting complex toxicity data. Finally, this cyanobacterial bioreporter, due to its ecological relevance as a primary producer, could be used as a tool for toxicity assessment in freshwater environments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ismael Rodea-Palomares
- Departamento de Biología, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Cantoblanco, 28049 Madrid, Spain
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Blanco-Rivero A, Leganés F, Fernández-Valiente E, Fernández-Piñas F. mrpA (all1838), a gene involved in alkali and Na(+) sensitivity, may also have a role in energy metabolism in the cyanobacterium Anabaena sp. strain PCC 7120. J Plant Physiol 2009; 166:1488-1496. [PMID: 19410333 DOI: 10.1016/j.jplph.2009.03.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/29/2009] [Revised: 03/13/2009] [Accepted: 03/16/2009] [Indexed: 05/27/2023]
Abstract
Anabaena sp. PCC7120 contains a gene, mrpA (all1838), which forms part of a seven gene-cluster (all1843-all1837) with significant sequence similarity to bacterial operons that putatively code for a multicomponent cation/proton antiporter involved in alkaline pH adaptation and salt resistance. We previously showed that growth and photosynthesis were inhibited in a strain mutated in mrpA, denoted as PHB11, particularly at alkaline pH. Here, we show that respiration was also impaired in the mutant independently of the external pH. In addition, at high pH, less ATP and vegetative cell ferredoxin were present in PHB11, which also showed lower levels of ferredoxin-NADP(+) oxidoreductase (FNR). Ferredoxin and FNR are involved in the generation of reductant NADPH in cyanobacteria. These results suggest an energetic role of mrpA (and perhaps of the whole mrp-gene cluster) in Anabaena sp. PCC 7120 that is further supported by the significant similarity of putative Anabaena Mrp proteins to membrane subunits of complex I.
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Affiliation(s)
- Amaya Blanco-Rivero
- Departamento de Biología, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, C/Darwin, 2, 28049 Madrid, Spain
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Leganés F, Forchhammer K, Fernández-Piñas F. Role of calcium in acclimation of the cyanobacterium Synechococcus elongatus PCC 7942 to nitrogen starvation. Microbiology (Reading) 2009; 155:25-34. [PMID: 19118343 DOI: 10.1099/mic.0.022251-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 36] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
Abstract
A Ca2+ signal is required for the process of heterocyst differentiation in the filamentous diazotrophic cyanobacterium Anabaena sp. PCC 7120. This paper presents evidence that a transient increase in intracellular free Ca2+ is also involved in acclimation to nitrogen starvation in the unicellular non-diazotrophic cyanobacterium Synechococcus elongatus PCC 7942. The Ca2+ transient was triggered in response to nitrogen step-down or the addition of 2-oxoglutarate (2-OG), or its analogues 2,2-difluoropentanedioic acid (DFPA) and 2-methylenepentanedioic acid (2-MPA), to cells growing with combined nitrogen, suggesting that an increase in intracellular 2-OG levels precedes the Ca2+ transient. The signalling protein P(II) and the transcriptional regulator NtcA appear to be needed to trigger the signal. Suppression of the Ca2+ transient by the intracellular Ca2+ chelator N,N'-[1,2-ethanediylbis(oxy-2,1-phenylene)]bis[N-[2-[(acetyloxy)methoxy]-2-oxoethyl]]-,bis[(acetyloxy)methyl] ester (BAPTA-AM) inhibited expression of the glnB and glnN genes, which are involved in acclimation to nitrogen starvation and transcriptionally activated by NtcA. BAPTA-AM treatment partially inhibited expression of the nblA gene, which is involved in phycobiliprotein degradation following nutrient starvation and is regulated by NtcA and NblR; in close agreement, BAPTA-AM treatment partially inhibited bleaching following nitrogen starvation. Taken together, the results presented here strongly suggest an involvement of a defined Ca2+ transient in acclimation of S. elongatus to nitrogen starvation through NtcA-dependent regulation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Francisco Leganés
- Departamento de Biología, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Madrid 28049, Spain
| | - Karl Forchhammer
- Lehrstuhl für Mikrobiologie-Organismische Interaktionen, Universität Tübingen, Auf der Morgenstelle 28, 72076 Tübingen, Germany
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Leganés F, Blanco-Rivero A, Fernández-Piñas F, Redondo M, Fernández-Valiente E, Fan Q, Lechno-Yossef S, Wolk CP. Wide variation in the cyanobacterial complement of presumptive penicillin-binding proteins. Arch Microbiol 2005; 184:234-48. [PMID: 16231162 DOI: 10.1007/s00203-005-0046-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/19/2005] [Revised: 08/29/2005] [Accepted: 09/19/2005] [Indexed: 10/25/2022]
Abstract
A genomic analysis of putative penicillin-binding proteins (PBPs) that are involved in the synthesis of the peptidoglycan layer of the cell wall and are encoded in 12 cyanobacterial genomes was performed in order to help elucidate the role(s) of these proteins in peptidoglycan synthesis, especially during cyanobacterial cellular differentiation. The analysis suggested that the minimum set of PBPs needed to assemble the peptidoglycan layer in cyanobacteria probably does not exceed one bifunctional transpeptidase-transglycosylase Class A high-molecular-weight PBP; two Class B high-molecular-weight PBPs, one of them probably involved in cellular elongation and the other in septum formation; and one low-molecular-weight PBP. The low-molecular-weight PBPs of all of the cyanobacteria analyzed are putative endopeptidases and are encoded by fewer genes than in Escherichia coli. We show that in Anabaena sp. strain PCC 7120, predicted proteins All2981 and Alr4579, like Alr5101, are Class A high-molecular-weight PBPs that are required for the functional differentiation of aerobically diazotrophic heterocysts, indicating that some members of this class of PBPs are required specifically for cellular developmental processes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Francisco Leganés
- Departamento de Biología, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, 28049 Madrid, Spain.
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