Abstract
The toxicological responses of the freshwater cyanophycean algaeAnabaena flos-aquae andA. variabilis, to selected concentrations of the essential cation zinc, were quantified by the techniques of stereological electron microscopic morphometry. The cation concentrations used were 20.6, 52.0, and 114.7 μM, which represented the 96-hr EC50 dose forA. variabilis and an equal bisection of a log scale above and below this concentration. The results indicated that the surface area of the thylakoids ofA. flos-aquae were significantly increased after exposure to 114.7 μM Zn, and that there was a significant increase in the number of lipid bodies per cell. All test concentrations caused a significant reduction in both the numbers and relative volume of the cell's cyanophycin granules, but resulted in an increase in the cell's membrane limited crystalline inclusions. Both 52.0 and 114.7 μM Zn caused a significant increase in the surface area of the thylakoids ofA. variabilis, but only the highest concentration caused an increase in the volume of the interthylakoidal spaces. The relative volume and numbers of lipid bodies ofA. variabilis cells were increased by exposure to 52.0 μM Zn, and 114.7 μM Zn caused a significant increase in the relative volume and numbers of the cell's polyphosphate bodies. The significance of these results are discussed in terms of potential cellular detoxification mechanisms, which are important in the cell's ability to cope with the anthropogenic introduction into the aquatic environment of metal and industrial pollutants.
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Rachlin, J.W., Jensen, T.E. & Warkentine, B.E. Morphometric analysis of the response ofAnabaena flos-aquae andAnabaena variabilis (Cyanophyceae) to selected concentrations of zinc. Arch. Environ. Contam. Toxicol. 14, 395–402 (1985). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01055524
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01055524