Effects of Lanthanum on the Photosystem II Energy Fluxes and Antioxidant System of Chlorella Vulgaris and Phaeodactylum Tricornutum.

Dong Sun,Qi Chen,Shunshan Duan,Ning He

doi:10.3390/ijerph16122242

Abstract

The rare earth elements are widely used in agricultural and light industry development. They promote the growth of crop seedlings, enhance root development and change the metal properties. Due to the large amount of rare earth minerals mined in China, rare earth elements have been detected in both coastal and estuary areas. They cause pollution and threaten the health of aquatic organisms and human beings. This study investigates the effects of lanthanum on two marine bait algae, and analyzes the changes in the photosynthetic and antioxidant systems of the two algae. The results show that rare earth elements have significant inhibitory effects upon the two algae. The OJIP kinetic curve value decreases with an increasing concentration of La(NO3)3 ·6H2O. The parameters of the fluorescence value were analyzed. The ABS/RC increases and the DI0/RC decreases during the first 24 h after exposure. The effects on the photosynthetic and antioxidant systems at low concentrations (both EC10 and EC20) show that the TR0/ABS increases, and the ET0/RC, ABS/RC, and DI0/RC has a decreasing trend after 30 min. However, after 24 h, normal levels were restored. In addition, the study finds that the TR0/ABS increases after 24 h, leading to an increase in reactive oxygen species. The antioxidant system analysis also confirms the increase in the activities of antioxidant enzymes, such as SOD and GSH. The experiment is expected to support the marine pollution of rare earths and the theoretical data of the impact on marine primary producers.

Highlights

The rare earth elements (REEs) are a series of metal elements with similar physical and chemical properties
These two marine microalgae cultures were obtained using artificial seawater enriched with a modification of f/2 medium without ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA)
The results show that La(NO3 )3 ·6H2 O has inhibitory effects on both marine microalgae

Summary

Introduction

The rare earth elements (REEs) are a series of metal elements with similar physical and chemical properties. Some studies report that REEs are largely found in the air [6], soil [7], sediments [8], and water [9]. They are detected in vegetables [10], fishes [11], and especially in human urine and hair [12,13]. Other studies reported that REEs accumulate in organisms [14] and are toxic at environmental concentrations

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