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Stress responses and metal tolerance of Chlamydomonas acidophila in metal-enriched lake water and artificial medium

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Abstract

Chlamydomonas acidophila faces high heavy-metal concentrations in acidic mining lakes, where it is a dominant phytoplankton species. To investigate the importance of metals to C. acidophila in these lakes, we examined the response of growth, photosynthesis, cell structure, heat-shock protein (Hsp) accumulation, and metal adsorption after incubation in metal-rich lake water and artificial growth medium enriched with metals (Fe, Zn). Incubation in both metal-rich lake water and medium caused large decreases in photosystem II function (though no differences among lakes), but no decrease in growth rate (except for medium + Fe). Concentrations of small Hsps were higher in algae incubated in metal-rich lake-water than in metal-enriched medium, whereas Hsp60 and Hsp70A were either less or equally expressed. Cellular Zn and Fe contents were lower, and metals adsorbed to the cell surface were higher, in lake-water-incubated algae than in medium-grown cells. The results indicate that high Zn or Fe levels are likely not the main or only contributor to the low primary production in mining lakes, and multiple adaptations of C. acidophila (e.g., high Hsp levels, decreased metal accumulation) increase its tolerance to metals and permit survival under such adverse environmental conditions. Supposedly, the main stress factor present in the lake water is an interaction between low P and high Fe concentrations.

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Acknowledgements

We thank Klaus Hausmann for the TEM work that supports our results. This work has been supported by the German research foundation (DFG) to AG-E and ES, a European Union Marie Curie Development Host Fellowship received by ES, a scholarship from the FAZIT-foundation (Frankfurt/Main, Germany) received by AG-E and the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) as part of the International Quality Network (IQN) to DB and SH.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Ecology and Ecosystem Modelling, University of Potsdam, Am Neuen Palais 10, Potsdam, Germany

    Elly Spijkerman, Deepak Barua, Antje Gerloff-Elias & Ursula Gaedke

  2. Department of Environmental Sciences, University of Toledo, Toledo, OH, USA

    Deepak Barua & Scott A. Heckathorn

  3. Leibniz Institute for Agricultural Engineering Potsdam-Bornim e.V, Max-Eyth-Allee 100, Potsdam, Germany

    Jürgen Kern

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  1. Elly Spijkerman
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  2. Deepak Barua
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  3. Antje Gerloff-Elias
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  4. Jürgen Kern
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  5. Ursula Gaedke
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  6. Scott A. Heckathorn
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Correspondence to Elly Spijkerman.

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Communicated by K. Horikoshi.

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Spijkerman, E., Barua, D., Gerloff-Elias, A. et al. Stress responses and metal tolerance of Chlamydomonas acidophila in metal-enriched lake water and artificial medium. Extremophiles 11, 551–562 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00792-007-0067-0

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