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Disturbance of chiral ionic liquids to phototaxis of Chlamydomonas reinhardtii: regular analysis and mechanism attempt

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Abstract

Given the recent extensive synthesis and application of ionic liquids (ILs), finding a sensitive and visual indicator to provide a fast-initial risk assessment of IL use has become a pressing issue. In this study, we verified that the phototaxis of Chlamydomonas reinhardtii is a valid indicator of the environmental risk associated with chiral ILs L-(+)- and D-(−)-1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium lactate (BMIM L). Briefly, C. reinhardtii was exposed to a 4000-lx side light source for varying lengths of time. Following the allotted exposure time, the algae aggregation was photographed, and then quantitative analysis was conducted using Image-J software to obtain the corresponding relationship between IL stimulation and C. reinhardtii phototaxis. The gray areas from each treatment were measured and the percentage was calculated. After 16 h of side lighting, for control, the percentage of gray areas was − 22%, while for L-(+)- and D-(−)- BMIM L were 17% and 33%, respectively. Then, after 8 h of darkness, where D-(−)-BMIM L and the control showed the positive phototaxis, but the L-(+)-BMIM L-treated group showed virtually no change. This phenomenon is consistent with excessive production of reactive oxygen species (ROS). Moreover, atomic force microscope (AFM) results indicated distinct aggregation between D-(−)- and L-(+)-BMIM L, which caused changes in cell permeability that induced a change in ROS transfer. Furthermore, relationship between phototaxis and changes in cell ultrastructure and photosynthetic efficiency was also investigated. This work demonstrates the potential of phototaxis to serve as a sensitive, convenient, and cost effective qualitative assessment of ILs’ toxic impact, with the understanding that quantitative evaluation requires further improvement.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC, No. 21876150 and 21677124), the Zhejiang Provincial Natural Science Foundation of China (No. LQ19B070002), the Zhejiang Provincial Education Department Foundation of China (No. Y201839092), the Ningbo Municipal Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 2018A610209 and 2017A610299), and K. C. Wong Magna Fund in Ningbo University.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Science and Technology, Ningbo University, Ningbo, 315212, China

    Hui Chen & Jinxing Hu

  2. College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Donghua University, Shanghai, 201620, China

    Chensi Shen

  3. Department of Veterinary Integrative Biosciences, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, 77843, USA

    Zunwei Chen

  4. MOE Key Laboratory of Environmental Remediation & Ecosystem Health, College of Environmental and Resource Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310058, China

    Yuezhong Wen

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  1. Hui Chen
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Correspondence to Yuezhong Wen.

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Chen, H., Shen, C., Chen, Z. et al. Disturbance of chiral ionic liquids to phototaxis of Chlamydomonas reinhardtii: regular analysis and mechanism attempt. Environ Sci Pollut Res 27, 15011–15019 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-020-07882-6

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