Microalgae for freshwater arsenic bioremediation: examining cellular toxicity, bioconcentration factor and eluding an alternative arsenic detoxification pathway

Abstract

Microalgae are photoautotrophic organisms in freshwater systems known to uptake and bioremediate arsenic, a heavy metal. In this study, we compared the growth and arsenic uptake of two microalgae strains, Nostoc and Chlorella, to determine their suitability for arsenic bioremediation. As compared to the control, our results showed that treatment with As (III) enhanced the Nostoc growth by approximately 15% when grown in the absence of phosphate. The highest bioconcentration factor of Nostoc at this treatment was 1463.6, whereas 0.10 mg L−1 As (V) treatment improved the Chlorella growth by 25%, in the presence of phosphate. However, arsenic uptake reduced from 175.7 to 32.3 throughout the cultivation period for Chlorella. This suggests that Nostoc has an upper advantage in the bioremediation of arsenic as compared to the Chlorella strain. To gain insights into the potential of Nostoc in arsenic bioremediation, we further conducted SEM analysis on the vegetative cell surface. The SEM results showed that As (III) disrupted the Nostoc vegetative cell surface and structure. Further to this, pathway analysis and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) were conducted to identify the potential arsenic pathway regulated by Nostoc. The primary As (III)-related pathways elucidated include the arsA transporter and arsD complex that require ATP and As (III) methylation to S-adenosylmethionine. The phosphate deficiency condition resulting in the inability to generate ATP caused As (III) could not be excreted from the Nostoc cells, potentially contributing to the high arsenic concentration accumulated under phosphate-depleted conditions. These insights contribute to understanding the efficacy of microalgae strains in freshwater arsenic bioremediation.