Effects of copper and zinc ions on green microalgae Chlorella vulgaris

Authors

  • Valentina V. Galyamina Institute of Ecology and Genetics of Microorganisms UB RAS – branch of the PFRC of the UB RAS, Perm, Russia
  • Dmitry Y. Sharavin Institute of Ecology and Genetics of Microorganisms UB RAS – branch of the PFRC of the UB RAS, Perm, Russia

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.17072/1994-9952-2026-2-139-149

Keywords:

Chlorella vulgaris, copper and zinc ions, chlorophylls, carotenoids, carbohydrates, proline, toxicity

Abstract

The paper presents the results of a study on the toxic effects of copper and zinc in the concentration ranges of 1–17 μM Cu2+ and 5–60 μM Zn2+ on the freshwater green microalgae Chlorella vulgaris IMBR-19. In a one-week experiment, the toxicity of heavy metals was assessed based on such parameters as the number of live and dead cells, and the content of pigments, carbohydrates, and proline. Copper was found to have a greater inhibitory effect on Chlorella than zinc. The threshold concentrations at which no culture growth was observed and the number of dead cells approached 100% were 13 and 40 μM for cop­per and zinc, respectively. It was found that with an increase in heavy metal concentrations (within the microalgal growth range) does not lead to a statistically significant decrease in the concentration of photosynthetic pig­ments. A significant increase in chlorophyll and carotenoid content was observed at copper concentrations of 7–11 µM. The obtained data indicate that an increase in heavy metal concentrations leads to a 2- and 3-fold increase in carbohydrate content in Chlorella cells compared to the control, for copper and zinc, respectively. A similar relationship was observed for proline, where the experimental treatments with copper and zinc at 13 μM and 30 μM, respectively, exceeded the control by 2.7 and 4 times.

Author Biographies

  • Valentina V. Galyamina, Institute of Ecology and Genetics of Microorganisms UB RAS – branch of the PFRC of the UB RAS, Perm, Russia
    candidate of biology, engineer at the Laboratory of cellular immunology and nanobiotechnology
  • Dmitry Y. Sharavin, Institute of Ecology and Genetics of Microorganisms UB RAS – branch of the PFRC of the UB RAS, Perm, Russia
    candidate of biology, junior researcher at the Laboratory of cellular immunology and nanobiotechnology

References

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20. Hassler C.S., Behra R., Wilkinson K.J. Impact of zinc acclimation on bioaccumulation and homeo-stasis in Chlorella kesslerii. Aquatic Toxicology. V. 74. No. 2. (2005): pp. 139-149. DOI: 1016/j.aquatox.2005.02.008

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31. Ogbonna J.C., Nweze N.O., Ogbonna C.N. Effects of light on cell growth, chlorophyll, and carote-noid contents of Chlorella sorokiniana and Ankistrodesmus falcatus in poultry dropping medium. Journal of applied biology and biotechnology. V. 9, No. 2 (2021): pp. 157-163. DOI: 10.7324/JABB.2021.9215.

32. Stauber J.L., Florence T.M. Mechanism of toxicity of ionic copper and copper complexes to algae. Ma¬rine Biology. V. 94 (1987): pp. 511-519.

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34. Zhang W., Tan N.G.J., Fu B., Li S.F.Y. Metallomics and NMR-based metabolomics of Chlorella sp. re¬veal the synergistic role of copper and cadmium in multi metal toxicity and oxidative stress. Metallom-ics. V. 7 (2015). Art. 426. DOI: 10.1039/c4mt00253a.

35. Zhou G.J., Peng F.Q., Zhang L.J., Ying G.G. Biosorption of zinc and copper from aqueous solutions by two freshwater green microalgae Chlorella pyrenoidosa and Scenedesmus obliquus. Environmental science and pollution research international. V. 19, No. 7 (2012): pp. 2918-2929. DOI: 10.1007/s11356-012-0800-9.

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Published

2026-07-07

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Vol. 17 No. 2 (2026): Bulletin of Perm University. BIOLOGY

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Микробиология

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How to Cite

Effects of copper and zinc ions on green microalgae Chlorella vulgaris. (2026). Bulletin of Perm University. Biology, 17(2), 139-149. https://doi.org/10.17072/1994-9952-2026-2-139-149

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