Assessment of Various Parameters of Metal Biology in Marine Microalgae Phaeodactylum Tricornutum and Dunaliella Tertiolecta

Abstract

This work reports on the variations in copper and zinc uptake, accumulation, toxicity, and chlorophyll-a contents in two marine algae, Dunaliella tertiolecta and Phaeodactylum tricornutum, that are important in the food chain and widely used as indicators. Each of the heavy metals tested was applied to a batch system over a period of 96 h applying high metal concentration (5-50 mg L-1). Experimental results showed that there was an increase in bioaccumulation in both Phaeodactylum tricornutum. and Dunaliella tertiolecta. The highest decrease in chlorophyll-a concentration was in 5 mg L-1 copper solution of Phaeodactylum tricornutum. In both organisms, copper was found to be much more toxic than zinc. As metal concentration and exposure time were increased, the metal uptake into cells decreased but the amount of adsorbed metal on cell surfaces increased.