A.O. Kovalevsky Institute of Biology of the Southern Seas of the Russian Academy of Sciences, 2, Nakhimov avenue, Sevastopol 299011, Russian Federation.
Sevastopol State University, 33, Universitetskaya Street, Sevastopol 299053, Russian Federation.
Funct Plant Biol. 2023 Aug;50(8):612-622. doi: 10.1071/FP22282.
The high rate of production and use of copper oxide nanoparticles (CuO NPs) results in its accumulation in the environment. However, the effect of large quantities of CuO NPs on aquatic ecosystems is not fully known. In aquatic ecosystems, phytoplankton is the primary producer of organic matter and the basis of all the trophic interactions; accordingly, the potential effect of CuO NPs on the microalgae community is of great concern. This study established the main patterns of changes in morphological, structural, functional, fluorescent and cytometric parameters in the marine diatom Thalassiosira weissflogii after adding CuO NPs to the medium at concentrations of 250-2500μgL-1 . As shown, the investigated pollutant has cytotoxic, genotoxic and mechanical effect on the microalga covering almost all the aspects of cell functioning. A two-fold decrease in the culture abundance relative to the control is observed at the toxicant content of 550μgL-1 in the medium. At CuO NPs content above 750μgL-1 , a pronounced inhibition of the alga growth is recorded, as well as a decrease in the efficiency of its photosynthetic apparatus, a disturbance of membrane integrity, an increase in cell volume, a rise in abundance of dead/inactive cells in the culture, enlargement and deformation of nuclei, an increase in reactive oxygen species production, and depolarisation of the mitochondrial membrane. Our results show that high CuO NPs concentrations in water can cause serious disruptions in phytoplankton functioning and in equilibrium of aquatic ecosystems in general.
氧化铜纳米颗粒（CuO NPs）的高产量和高使用率导致其在环境中积累。然而，大量 CuO NPs 对水生生态系统的影响尚未完全了解。在水生生态系统中，浮游植物是有机物的主要生产者，也是所有营养相互作用的基础；因此，CuO NPs 对微藻群落的潜在影响引起了极大的关注。本研究建立了在浓度为 250-2500μg/L 的培养基中添加 CuO NPs 后，海洋硅藻塔玛斯藻形态、结构、功能、荧光和细胞计量学参数的主要变化模式。结果表明，研究中的污染物对微藻具有细胞毒性、遗传毒性和机械效应，几乎涵盖了细胞功能的所有方面。在有毒物质含量为 550μg/L 的培养基中，与对照组相比，培养物的丰度下降了两倍。当 CuO NPs 含量高于 750μg/L 时，记录到藻类生长明显受到抑制，光合作用装置效率降低，膜完整性受到干扰，细胞体积增大，培养物中死亡/失活细胞的丰度增加，核增大和变形，活性氧产生增加，线粒体膜去极化。我们的结果表明，水中高浓度的 CuO NPs 可能会严重干扰浮游植物的功能和整个水生生态系统的平衡。
