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Updated: Jun 29, 2026

Quantification of Heavy Metals and Other Inorganic Contaminants on the Productivity of Microalgae
Published on: July 10, 2015
Toxic effects induced by salt stress on selected freshwater prokaryotic and eukaryotic microalgal species
M C Bartolomé1, A D'ors, S Sánchez-Fortún
1Facultad de Quimicofarmacología, Universidad Michoacana de San Nicolás de Hidalgo, Morelia, Mexico.
Abstract:
In order to determine the short-term impact induced by salt stress, cultures of Dictyosphaerium chlorelloides and Microcystis aeruginosa were grown in presence of increasing sea-salt concentrations. Growth rate and photosystem II activity in D. chlorelloides, and photosynthetic oxygen production (in both species) were analyzed. A concentration-dependent response was obtained with the presence of sea-salt in culture medium, being M. aeruginosa (EC(50(72)) = 76.6 mM) more sensitive to salt stress than D. chlorelloides (EC(50(72)) = 340.7 mM). However, comparative analysis between growth and Phi(PSII) inhibition in D. chlorelloides shown that there are not significant differences among EC(50(72)) values obtained. An immediate toxic response, induced by increase of sea-salt concentration, has been obtained applying the calculated EC(50(72)) values in both species. These results shown that sea-salt acts as a sensitive and rapid toxic compound in algal cells, and that the sensitivity of M. aeruginosa to salinity stress is much higher than that of D. chlorelloides.
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