Monitoring of Waste Water Samples Using the ECOTOX Biosystem and the Flagellate Alga Euglena gracilis

Ahmed, H. M. I.; Häder, Donat-Peter

doi:10.1007/s11270-010-0552-4

Cited by 29 publications

(14 citation statements)

References 52 publications

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“…Based on results presented in this paper, as well as our analysis of a large number of wastewater samples from different industries (unpublished data), we conclude that gravitactic orientation (r value) of E. gracilis is its most sensitive parameter towards wastewater toxicity during short-term tests. Our results are in strong agreement with other studies that reported higher sensitivity of gravitactic orientation in Euglena to various toxins (Ahmed and Häder 2010b;Tahedl and Häder 1999). E. gracilis has calcium-sensitive channels in the cell membrane acting as gravireceptors (Häder et al 2009) which can be a possible reason for the higher sensitivity of gravitactic orientation in Euglena to wastewaters and other toxins (Ahmed and Häder 2010b).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 93%

“…The sensitivity of ECOTOX to different pollutants and toxins has been found to be comparable to or even higher than other commonly used biotests like Daphnia (motility), fish (mortality), gene toxicity tests (mutant genes), algae test (growth rate) and Vibrio fischeri (bioluminescence assay) (Ahmed and Häder 2010b;Tahedl and Häder 1999;. For toxicity assessment in the aquatic environments, different algal tests are being used with cell number, fresh or dry weight, chlorophyll a fluorescence, photosynthetic CO 2 fixation, protein and nucleic acid contents, ATP production, morphology or vital stainability as endpoints (Rai et al 1994).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 81%

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Sensitivity of various parameters in Euglena gracilis to short-term exposure to industrial wastewaters

Azizullah

Richter

Häder³

2011

J Appl Phycol

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Due to the presence of various potential pollutants industrial wastewaters pose considerable threats to natural waters and make it unfit for the aquatic biota. Analysis of wastewaters by chemical methods is a common practice; however, it does not reflect the toxic effects on living organism. Therefore, bioassessment is necessary for monitoring of wastewater quality. In the present study, the toxic effects of wastewater samples from different industries were evaluated using Euglena gracilis as a biotest organism. Various parameters of the freshwater flagellate E. gracilis like motility, swimming velocity, cell shape, gravitactic orientation (using the automatic biotest ECOTOX) and photosynthetic efficiency (using a pulse amplitude modulated fluorometer) were used as end points for toxicity assessment. In addition, the samples were analysed for some ecologically important physicochemical properties. With some exceptions, most of the physicochemical properties of the tested samples were within the acceptable range of national environmental quality standards for municipal and industrial effluents. However, all the water samples adversely affected different parameters in E. gracilis. This study led to the conclusion that different toxic substances present in wastewater, even at low concentrations, can be a possible threat to aquatic biota. The results of this study prove that ECOTOX is a sensitive, easy, and fast bioassay for monitoring of water and wastewater quality. Gravitactic orientation and cell compactness of E. gracilis were the most sensitive parameters to wastewater toxicity.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 93%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 81%

Sensitivity of various parameters in Euglena gracilis to short-term exposure to industrial wastewaters

Azizullah

Richter

Häder³

2011

J Appl Phycol

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“…Each bar represents the mean value of three independent replicates and the error bars represent standard deviation. Asterisk indicate a significant difference as compared to the control Comparative toxicity of the pesticides carbofuran and malathion 1449 (Ahmed and Häder 2010;Ahmed and Häder 2011;Pettersson and Ekelund 2006;Richter et al 2007;Tahedl and Häder 2001). On the other hand, malathion-treated cultures were shown to have slightly more precise gravitactic orientation as compared to the controls.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Comparative toxicity of the pesticides carbofuran and malathion to the freshwater flagellate Euglena gracilis

Azizullah

Richter

Häder³

2011

Ecotoxicology

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Pesticides are toxic chemicals used for agricultural as well as non-agricultural purposes. The toxicity of pesticides does not remain limited to the site of application but they also cause toxicity to non-target organisms in terrestrial as well as in aquatic environments. This study discusses the comparative toxicity of a carbamate (carbofuran) and an organophosphorus (malathion) pesticide to the freshwater flagellate Euglena gracilis during short- and long-term exposures. To evaluate the toxicity of the pesticides, different parameters of the flagellate, like cell density, motility, swimming velocity, cell shape, gravitactic orientation, photosynthetic efficiency, and concentration of light harvesting pigments, were used as end points. Carbofuran was found to be more toxic to E. gracilis than malathion and adversely affected almost all the tested parameters in short- and long-term experiments. The only significant adverse effect by malathion could be demonstrated on the swimming velocity of cells in short-term experiments. The adverse effects of the pesticides were more pronounced during short-term than during long-term exposure.

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“…But exposing swimming cells to an electric field had no effect on phototactic orientation in Euglena (Häder et al 1987). Since Euglena shows very sensitive behavioral reactions to heavy metals and other pollutants at very low concentrations it is employed in bioassays based on computerized, on-line analysis of motility and orientation (Tahedl and Häder 2001;Häder 2004;Ahmed and Häder 2011;Azizullah et al 2013).…”

Section: Signal Transduction Chainmentioning

confidence: 99%

Photomovement in Euglena

Häder

Iseki

2017

Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology

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Motile microorganisms such as the green Euglena gracilis use a number of external stimuli to orient in their environment. They respond to light with photophobic responses, photokinesis and phototaxis, all of which can result in accumulations of the organisms in suitable habitats. The light responses operate synergistically with gravitaxis, aerotaxis and other responses. Originally the microscopically obvious stigma was thought to be the photoreceptor, but later the paraxonemal body (PAB, paraflagellar body) has been identified as the light responsive organelle, located in the trailing flagellum inside the reservoir. The stigma can aid in light direction perception by shading the PAB periodically when the cell rotates helically in lateral light, but stigmaless mutants can also orient with respect to the light direction, and negative phototaxis does not need the presence of the stigma. The PAB is composed of dichroically oriented chromoproteins which is reflected in a pronounced polarotaxis in polarized light. There was a long debate about the potential photoreceptor molecule in Euglena, including carotenoids, flavins and rhodopsins. This discussion was terminated by the unambiguous proof that the photoreceptor is a 400 kDa photoactivated adenylyl cyclase (PAC) which consists of two α- and two β-subunits each. Each subunit possesses two BLUF (Blue Light receptor Using FAD) domains binding FAD, which harvest the light energy, and two adenylyl cyclases, which produce cAMP from ATP. The cAMP has been found to activate one of the five protein kinase s found in Euglena (PK.4). This enzyme in turn is thought to phosphorylate proteins inside the flagellum which result in a change in the flagellar beating pattern and thus a course correction of the cell. The involvements of PAC and protein kinase have been confirmed by RNA interference (RNAi). PAC is responsible for step-up photophobic responses as well as positive and negative phototaxis, but not for the step-down photophobic response, even though the action spectrum of this resembles those for the other two responses. Analysis of several colorless Euglena mutants and the closely related Euglena longa (formerly Astasia longa) confirms the results. Photokinesis shows a completely different action spectrum. Some other Euglena species, such as E. sanguinea and the gliding E. mutabilis, have been investigated, again showing totally different action spectra for phototaxis and photokinesis as well as step-up and step-down photophobic responses.

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Monitoring of Waste Water Samples Using the ECOTOX Biosystem and the Flagellate Alga Euglena gracilis

Cited by 29 publications

References 52 publications

Sensitivity of various parameters in Euglena gracilis to short-term exposure to industrial wastewaters

Sensitivity of various parameters in Euglena gracilis to short-term exposure to industrial wastewaters

Comparative toxicity of the pesticides carbofuran and malathion to the freshwater flagellate Euglena gracilis

Photomovement in Euglena

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