AUTHOR=Upadhyay Atul K. , Mallick Shekhar , Singh Ranjan , Singh Lav , Singh Nitesh , Mandotra S. K. , Singh Arpit , Srivastava Ravi Prakash , Pandey Shivaraman , Saxena Gauri 

TITLE=Novel cost-effective design for bio-volatilization studies in photosynthetic microalgae exposed to arsenic with emphasis on growth and glutathione modulation

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Microbiology

VOLUME=14

YEAR=2023

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/microbiology/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2023.1170740

DOI=10.3389/fmicb.2023.1170740

ISSN=1664-302X

ABSTRACT=<p>A novel laboratory model was designed to study the arsenic (As) biotransformation potential of the microalgae <italic>Chlorella vulgaris</italic> and <italic>Nannochloropsis</italic> sp. and the cyanobacterium <italic>Anabaena doliolum</italic>. The Algae were treated under different concentrations of As(III) to check their growth, toxicity optimization, and volatilization potential. The results revealed that the alga <italic>Nannochloropsis</italic> sp. was better adopted in term of growth rate and biomass than <italic>C. vulgaris</italic> and <italic>A. doliolum.</italic> Algae grown under an As(III) environment can tolerate up to 200 μM As(III) with moderate toxicity impact. Further, the present study revealed the biotransformation capacity of the algae <italic>A. doliolum</italic>, <italic>Nannochloropsis</italic> sp., and <italic>Chlorella vulgaris</italic>. The microalga <italic>Nannochloropsis</italic> sp. volatilized a large maximum amount of As (4,393 ng), followed by <italic>C. vulgaris</italic> (4382.75 ng) and <italic>A. doliolum</italic> (2687.21 ng) after 21 days. The present study showed that As(III) stressed algae-conferred resistance and provided tolerance through high production of glutathione content and As-GSH chemistry inside cells. Thus, the biotransformation potential of algae may contribute to As reduction, biogeochemistry, and detoxification at a large scale.</p>