Phenanthrene and pyrene disturbed the growth of Microcystis aeruginosa as co-cultured with Chlorella pyrenoidosa

Significant levels of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) were detected in lakes. The competition between algae would be disturbed by PAHs resulted in variations of algal growth. For controlling the cyanobacterial blooms, it is important to understand this disturbed competition between Microcystis aeruginosa and other algae. A 6-day cultivation experiment was designed to investigate the responses of M. aeruginosa to PAHs in presence of green algae. A popular green alga Chlorella pyrenoidosa was used as a representative of green algae, and phenanthrene and pyrene were selected as representatives of PAHs. The results showed that M. aeruginosa outcompeted C. pyrenoidosa under PAH contamination, and PAHs and M. aeruginosa significantly inhibited the survival of C.pyrenoidosa. PAHs disturbed the growth of algae by influencing photosynthetic pigments and phycobiliproteins, and the different alteration of Fv/Fm ratios implied that shifted algal community composition would be induced by PAHs. The Fv/Fm of the two algal mixture and individual C. pyrenoidosa was significantly negatively correlated with phenanthrene levels. However, there were no significant correlations between the Fv/Fm of M. aeruginosa and the exposure levels of phenanthrene or pyrene. Remarkably, the Fv/Fm significantly increased in M. aeruginosa at 0.15 mg L−1 pyrene, suggesting that PSII resistance to pyrene was enhanced in M. aeruginosa. Our results pointed out an increasing frequency and intensity of cyanobacterial blooms could be induced by PAHs in contaminated waters.