Toxicity of Tetracycline and Metronidazole in Chlorella pyrenoidosa

Junrong Li, Yingjun Wang (), Ziqi Fan, Panyang Tang, Mengting Wu, Hong Xiao and Zhenxing Zeng
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Junrong Li: Department of Environmental Engineering, College of Environment, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu 611100, China
Yingjun Wang: Department of Environmental Engineering, College of Environment, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu 611100, China
Ziqi Fan: Sichuan SEP Analytical Services Co., Ltd., Chengdu 610000, China
Panyang Tang: Department of Environmental Engineering, College of Environment, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu 611100, China
Mengting Wu: Department of Environmental Engineering, College of Environment, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu 611100, China
Hong Xiao: Department of Environmental Engineering, College of Environment, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu 611100, China
Zhenxing Zeng: Department of Environmental Engineering, College of Environment, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu 611100, China

IJERPH, 2023, vol. 20, issue 4, 1-12

Abstract: Antibiotics have become a new kind of organic pollutant as they are widely used in the water environment of China. Tetracycline (TC) is a class of broad-spectrum antibiotics produced or semi-synthesized by actinomycetes. Metronidazole (MTZ) is the first generation of typical nitroimidazoles. The content of nitroimidazoles is relatively high in medical wastewater, and their ecotoxicity is worthy of attention because they are difficult to completely eliminate. In this paper, the effects of TC and MTZ on the growth, cell morphology, extracellular polymer and oxidative stress of Chlorella pyrenoidosa ( C. pyrenoidosa ) were studied, and the toxic interactions between TC and MTZ mixture components were analyzed. The results showed that the 96h-EC 50 of TC and MTZ was 8.72 mg/L and 45.125 mg/L, respectively. The toxicity of TC to C. pyrenoidosa was higher than that of MTZ, and the combined toxicity effect of TC and MTZ was synergistic after the combined action of a 1:1 toxicity ratio. In addition, the algal cells of C. pyrenoidosa died to varying degrees, the membrane permeability of algal cells was increased, the membrane was damaged, the surface of algal cells exposed to higher concentration of pollutants was wrinkled, and their morphology was changed. The extracellular polymer of C. pyrenoidosa was affected by a change in concentration. The effect of pollutants on the reactive oxygen species (ROS) level and malondialdehyde (MDA) content of C. pyrenoidosa also had an obvious dose–effect relationship. This study contributes to the assessment of the possible ecological risks to green algae due to the presence of TC and MTZ in aquatic environments.

Keywords: tetracycline; metronidazole; Chlorella pyrenoidosa; single toxicity; combined toxicity (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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