Mechanistic approaches for evaluating the toxicity of reactive organochlorines and epoxides in green algae

Reactive electrophilic chemicals, such as reactive organochlorine compounds or epoxides, react specifically with a broad spectrum of nucleophilic biomolecules, including proteins and DNA. Conventional toxicity tests for algae, involving the observation of growth inhibition, i.e., the inhibition of cell multiplication, after several days, yield unreliable information for risk assessment because reactive compounds hydrolyze to different extents during the exposure period. The diversity of their modes of toxic action further complicates effect assessment and calls for methods yielding additional information on the mechanisms of toxicity. One of the primary targets of reactive chemicals in cells is the tripeptide glutathione (GSH), which is important for detoxification but can also be regarded as a toxicity sensor because changes in glutathione levels indicate stress. A vital system for algae is the photosynthetic system, which is indirectly affected by reactive chemicals. The test systems developed in this study for the assessment of reactive toxicity toward algae were therefore based not only on nonspecific toxicity indicators like growth inhibition but also on indicators for disturbance of photosynthesis (inhibition of photosystem II quantum yield) and glutathione metabolism. The application of the developed test systems on Scenedesmus vacuolatus after short-term exposure of 2 h showed that these tests can be used as fast screening tests for algal toxicity and in mode-of-action-based test batteries.