Methylparaben toxicity and its removal by microalgae Chlorella vulgaris and Phaeodactylum tricornutum

Abstract

The widespread occurrence of methylparaben (MPB) has aroused great concern due to its weak estrogenic endocrine-disrupting property and potential toxic effects. However, the degradation potential and pathway of MPB by microalgae have rarely been reported. Here, microalgae Chlorella vulgaris and Phaeodactylum tricornutum were used to investigate their responses, degradation potential and mechanisms towards MPB. MPB showed low-dose stimulation (by 86.02 ± 0.07% at 1 mg/L) and high-dose inhibition (by 60.17 ± 0.05% at 80 mg/L) towards the growth of C. vulgaris, while showed inhibition for P. tricornutum (by 6.99 ± 0.05%−20.14 ± 0.19%). The degradation efficiencies and rates of MPB were higher in C. vulgaris (100%, 1.66 ± 0.54–5.60 ± 0.86 day−1) than in P. tricornutum (4.3–34.2%, 0.04 ± 0.01–0.08 ± 0.00 day−1), which could be explained by the significantly higher extracellular enzyme activity and more fluctuation of the protein ratio for C. vulgaris, indicating a higher ability of C. vulgaris to adapt to pollutant stress. Biodegradation was the main removal mechanism of MPB for both the two microalgae. Furthermore, two different degradation pathways of MPB by the two microalgae were proposed. MPB could be mineralized and completely detoxified by C. vulgaris. Overall, this study provides novel insights into MPB degradation by microalgae and strategies for simultaneous biodegradation and detoxification of MPB in the environment.