Role of zinc as an essential microelement for algal growth and concerns about its potential environmental risks

Abstract

This work aims to measure the role of zinc as an essential micronutrient for algal growth and the effect of using different concentrations of this heavy metal on growth and essential metabolites of Dunaliella tertiolecta. The EC50 obtained was around 15 mg/l. The results obtained proved that lower concentrations of the element increased growth and the content of the measured metabolites (photosynthesis pigments, fatty acids, and protein) but with different responses. The increase in content of these metabolic products with low concentrations of the tested heavy metal may be attributed to inhibition to these metabolites’ export out of cells by heavy metals. The obtained infrared peaks of the major cell constituents of the treated cells revealed the emergence of new peaks and the removal of others, indicating changes in cell constituents due to changing zinc concentrations.