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Physiological, morphological, and growth effects of microplastics on freshwater alga Chlorella vulgaris
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Researchers showed that microplastics inhibit growth, reduce chlorophyll and photosynthetic efficiency, and trigger oxidative stress in the freshwater alga Chlorella vulgaris in a concentration-dependent manner, suggesting the species could serve as a bioindicator for aquatic microplastic contamination.
It is doubted that large numbers of microplastics (MPs) are present in aquatic environment and their concentrations are expected to rise in the foreseeable future. Interactions, uptake, excretion rates, and the effects of microplastics on biota remain largely unrevealed. This study investigated how microplastics impact algal growth, physiological response, and the antioxidant system (superoxide dismutase “SOD”, peroxidase “POD”, catalase “CA” and glutathione reductase “GR” enzymes) using the green freshwater alga Chlorella vulgaris as the test species. MPs significantly (P < 0.05) reduced chlorophyll content, photosynthetic efficiency, photosynthetic rates, and the activities of POD, and GR. Moreover, SOD activity was significantly (P < 0.05) induced in MP-treated algae, indicating that oxidative stress was induced after exposure to MPs. Algal growth decreased with the increase in MPs, which showed that algal growth inhibition was found to be MPs’ concentration-dependent. C. vulgaris could be used as a bioindicator or a natural biomarker of contaminations in aquatic environments as it showed a range of physiological responses under MPs’ stress.
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Researchers exposed the freshwater alga Chlorella pyrenoidosa to polystyrene and PVC microplastics across three size ranges for 14 days, finding that smaller particles caused greater growth inhibition — up to 43% — and that algae responded by secreting extracellular polymers and forming aggregates to resist the particles.
A short-term preliminary experimental study on the effect of microplastics on Chlorella vulgaris and duckweeds
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Researchers exposed freshwater algae and duckweed — both important food sources for fish and humans — to microplastics and found that even small amounts inhibited growth and reduced photosynthetic pigments. This suggests that microplastic contamination in water could disrupt the base of aquatic food chains that people depend on.
Effects of polyvinyl chloride microplastics on the growth characteristics of Chlorella vulgaris HL01
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Laboratory experiments showed that polyvinyl chloride microplastics inhibited growth of the green alga Chlorella vulgaris at moderate concentrations but paradoxically promoted growth at very high concentrations (300–400 mg/L), with antioxidant enzyme activities and cell morphology confirming a biphasic dose-response. Understanding how PVC microplastics affect primary producers like microalgae is critical because phytoplankton underpin aquatic food webs and oxygen production, so even modest disruptions can cascade through ecosystems.
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