Institute of Oceanography, Department of Chemical Oceanography and Marine Geology, University of Gdansk, Av. M. Piłsudskiego 46, 81-378 Gdynia, Poland.
Department of Biology, Mount Allison University, 62 York St., Sackville, NB E4L 1E2, Canada.
Cells. 2023 Apr 2;12(7):1073. doi: 10.3390/cells12071073.
Air pollution has been a significant problem threatening human health for years. One commonly reported air pollutant is benzo(a)pyrene, a dangerous compound with carcinogenic properties. Values which exceed normative values for benzo(a)pyrene concentration in the air are often noted in many regions of the world. Studies on the worldwide spread of COVID-19 since 2020, as well as avian flu, measles, and SARS, have proven that viruses and bacteria are more dangerous to human health when they occur in polluted air. Regarding cyanobacteria and microalgae, little is known about their relationship with benzo(a)pyrene. The question is whether these microorganisms can pose a threat when present in poor quality air. We initially assessed whether cyanobacteria and microalgae isolated from the atmosphere are sensitive to changes in PAH concentrations and whether they can accumulate or degrade PAHs. The presence of B(a)P has significantly affected both the quantity of cyanobacteria and microalgae cells as well as their chlorophyll (chl ) content and their ability to fluorescence. For many cyanobacteria and microalgae, an increase in cell numbers was observed after the addition of B(a)P. Therefore, even slight air pollution with benzo(a)pyrene is likely to facilitate the growth of airborne cyanobacteria and microalgae. The results provided an assessment of the organisms that are most susceptible to cellular stress following exposure to benzo(a)pyrene, as well as the potential consequences for the environment. Additionally, the results indicated that green algae have the greatest potential for degrading PAHs, making their use a promising bioremediation approach. sp. demonstrated the highest average degradation of B(a)P, with the above-mentioned research indicating it can even degrade up to 80% of B(a)P. The other studied green algae exhibited a lower, yet still significant, B(a)P degradation rate exceeding 50% when compared to cyanobacteria and diatoms.
空气污染多年来一直是威胁人类健康的重大问题。一种常见的空气污染物是苯并(a)芘，它是一种具有致癌特性的危险化合物。在世界许多地区，空气中苯并(a)芘浓度超过标准值的情况经常被报道。自 2020 年以来对全球 COVID-19 传播、禽流感、麻疹和 SARS 的研究表明，当病毒和细菌存在于污染的空气中时，它们对人类健康的危害更大。关于蓝藻和微藻，人们对它们与苯并(a)芘的关系知之甚少。问题是，当它们存在于空气质量较差的空气中时，这些微生物是否会构成威胁。我们最初评估了从大气中分离出的蓝藻和微藻是否对 PAH 浓度的变化敏感，以及它们是否可以积累或降解 PAHs。B(a)P 的存在显著影响了蓝藻和微藻细胞的数量及其叶绿素 (chl) 含量和荧光能力。对于许多蓝藻和微藻，在添加 B(a)P 后观察到细胞数量增加。因此，即使空气中苯并(a)芘的污染轻微，也可能促进空气中蓝藻和微藻的生长。结果评估了暴露于苯并(a)芘后对细胞应激最敏感的生物，以及对环境的潜在影响。此外，结果表明绿藻对 PAHs 的降解潜力最大，使其成为一种很有前途的生物修复方法。 sp. 对 B(a)P 的平均降解率最高，上述研究表明，它甚至可以降解高达 80%的 B(a)P。与蓝藻和硅藻相比，其他研究的绿藻对 B(a)P 的降解率较低，但仍显著超过 50%。
