In the present study, the potential of a microalga, Chlorella vulgaris, was assessed for the bioremediation of fluoranthene (FLT), a four ring polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH). With an initial cell density of C. vulgaris (OD₆₈₀ = 0.100), 54–58% of 25 μM FLT was removed from the growth medium within 3 days and almost 90–94% after 7 days of incubation. Enzymatic studies confirmed that the enzyme involved in FLT metabolism was catechol 2,3, dioxygenase (C2,3D) which increased almost 2 times in 5 μM FLT and 2.4 times in 25 μM FLT inoculated culture. Activity of dehydrogenase and superoxide dismutase (SOD) was significantly reduced, while peroxidase (POD) activity was induced very prominently in FLT inoculated cultures. Changes in growth, physiological parameters and biochemical compositions of the algae with 5 μM and 25 μM FLT were also analyzed and compared to control. The analysis showed that parameters including growth rate, biomass, chlorophyll, carbohydrate and protein contents, were negatively affected by the higher concentration of FLT, whereas the lipid and carotenoids content significantly increased. To our knowledge, this is the first report to suggest the role of C2,3D pathway for the metabolism of FLT in a eukaryotic algae.

在本研究中，评估了微藻小球藻对四环多环芳烃（PAH）荧蒽（FLT）的生物修复的潜力。初始细胞密度为寻常梭状芽胞杆菌（OD ₆₈₀ = 0.100），在3天内将54–58％的25μMFLT从生长培养基中移除，在孵育7天后几乎移除了90–94％。酶学研究证实，参与FLT代谢的酶是邻苯二酚2,3，双加氧酶（C2,3D），在5μMFLT中接种几乎增加2倍，在25μMFLT接种培养中增加2.4倍。脱氢酶和超氧化物歧化酶（SOD）的活性明显降低，而过氧化物酶（POD）活性在FLT接种的培养物中非常明显地被诱导。还分析了5μM和25μMFLT藻类的生长，生理参数和生化组成的变化，并将其与对照进行比较。分析表明，较高的FLT浓度对生长速度，生物量，叶绿素，碳水化合物和蛋白质含量等参数产生负面影响，而脂质和类胡萝卜素含量明显增加。据我们所知，这是第一个提示C2,3D途径在真核藻类中FLT代谢中的作用的报道。