Responses to phytoplankton community succession and expression of key functional genes in plateau lakes under 17β-estradiol interference

Zhongqing Huang; Jian Shen; Jimeng Feng; Yanfen Yang; Jinxia Na; Xinze Wang

doi:10.1016/j.jhazmat.2024.134561

Responses to phytoplankton community succession and expression of key functional genes in plateau lakes under 17β-estradiol interference

J Hazard Mater. 2024 May 9:472:134561. doi: 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2024.134561. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Zhongqing Huang¹, Jian Shen², Jimeng Feng¹, Yanfen Yang³, Jinxia Na³, Xinze Wang¹

Affiliations

¹ School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, China; National Observation and Research Station of Erhai Lake Ecosystem in Yunnan, Dali 671000, China; Yunnan Dali Research Institute of Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Dali 671000, China.
² School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, China; National Observation and Research Station of Erhai Lake Ecosystem in Yunnan, Dali 671000, China; Yunnan Dali Research Institute of Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Dali 671000, China. Electronic address: sjlnts@sjtu.edu.cn.
³ National Observation and Research Station of Erhai Lake Ecosystem in Yunnan, Dali 671000, China; Yunnan Dali Research Institute of Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Dali 671000, China.

PMID: 38733784
DOI: 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2024.134561

Abstract

Steroid estrogens (SEs) have garnered global attention because of their potential hazards to human health and aquatic organisms at low concentrations (ng/L). The ecosystems of plateau freshwater lakes are fragile, the water lag time is long, and pollutants easily accumulate, making them more vulnerable to the impact of SEs. However, the knowledge of the impact of SEs on the growth and decomposition of phytoplankton communities in plateau lakes and the eutrophication process is limited. This study investigated the effects and mechanisms of SEs exposure on dominant algal communities and the expression of typical algal functional genes in Erhai Lake using indoor simulations and molecular biological methods. The results showed that phytoplankton were sensitive to 17β-estradiol (E2β) pollution, with a concentration of 50, and 100 ng/L E2β exposure promoting the growth of cyanophyta and chlorophyta in the short term; this poses an ecological risk of inducing algal blooms. E2β of 1000 ng/L exposure led to cross-effects of estrogenic effects and toxicity, with most phytoplankton being inhibited. However, small filamentous cyanobacteria and diatoms exhibited greater tolerance; Melosira sp. even exhibited "low inhibition, high promotion" behavior. Exposure to E2β reduced the Shannon-Wiener diversity index (H'), Pielou index (J), and the number of dominant algal species (S) in phytoplankton communities, leading to instability in community succession. E2β of 50 ng/L enhanced the expression levels of relevant functional genes, such as ftsH, psaB, atpB, and prx, related to Microcystis aeruginosa. E2β of 50 ng/L and 5 mg/L can promote the transcription of Microcystis toxins (MC) related genes (mcyA), leading to more MC production by algal cells.

Keywords: Community succession; Functional gene expression; Phytoplankton; Steroid estrogens.