The effect of bacteria on the sensitivity of microalgae to copper in laboratory bioassays

Although single-species laboratory toxicity tests with microalgae are sensitive and highly reproducible, they lack environmental realism. Interactions between algae and their associated bacteria, either in the plankton or in biofilms, may alter algal sensitivity to contaminants, which are not mimicked in laboratory toxicity tests. This study investigated the effects of simple algal-bacterial relationships on the sensitivity of laboratory-cultured algae to copper using 72-h algal growth-rate inhibition bioassays. Four species of microalgae were used, two isolates of each; a strain of algae with no microscopically visible and no culturable bacteria present (operationally defined as axenic) and a non-axenic strain. The four algae used were the marine diatom Nitzschia closterium, the freshwater green alga Pseudokirchneriella subcapitata and two tropical Chlorella spp. Under control conditions (no copper), N. closterium and P. subcapitata grew better in the presence of the bacterial community. Sensitivity to copper (assessed as the concentration to inhibit the growth rate by 50% after 72-h (IC50)) was not significantly different for the axenic and non-axenic strains of N. closterium, P. subcapitata or for Chlorella sp. (PNG isolate). At pH 5.7, the axenic Chlorella sp. (NT isolate) had a 72-h IC50 of 46mugCuL(-1), while in the presence of bacteria the IC50 increased (i.e., sensitivity decreased) to 208mugCuL(-1). However, when the bacterial status of both the operationally defined axenic and non-axenic cultures of N. closterium and Chlorella sp. (NT isolate) was investigated using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification of 16S rRNA followed by DNA fingerprinting using denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE), it was found that bacteria were actually present in all the algal cultures, i.e. the axenic cultures were not truly bacteria-free. Based on sequence information, the bacteria present were nearly all identified as alphaproteobacteria, and a number of isolates had high similarity to bacteria previously identified as symbionts or species endophytically associated with marine organisms. The "axenic" cultures contained less bacterial phylotypes than the non-axenic cultures, and based on band-intensity, also contained less bacterial DNA. This supported the findings of few differences in copper sensitivity between strains, and suggests that standard microalgal toxicity tests probably inadvertently use non-axenic cultures in metal assessment.