Nanoparticles (NPs) are becoming more widely produced, used, and released into the aquatic environment. In aquatic ecosystems, these NPs affect different populations of photosynthesizing organisms, such as cyanobacteria. This study aimed to evaluate the effects of titanium dioxide (TiO2) NPs (48 mg l-1) combined with low (0.04 mM) and high (9 mM) concentrations of urea and nitrate on Microcystis aeruginosa. Microcystins (MCs) production and release were monitored in the cyanobacterium. The results showed that high urea concentration (9 mM) combined with TiO2 NPs inhibited growth, pigment, and malondialdehyde (MDA) content by 82%, 63%, and 47%, respectively. The treatment also increased the reactive oxygen species (ROS) and glutathione S-transferase (GST) activity by 40.7% and 67.7%, respectively. Similarly, low nitrate (0.04 mM) combined with TiO2 NPs inhibited growth by 40.3% and GST activity by 36.3% but stimulated pigment production and ROS concentration in M. aeruginosa. These responses suggest that high urea combined with TiO2.NPs and high nitrate combined with TiO2 NPs induced oxidative stress in cyanobacteria. The peroxidase (POD) activity of M. aeruginosa decreased by 17.7% with increasing urea concentrations. Our findings suggest that TiO2 NPs combined with changing nutrient (urea and nitrate) concentrations may adversely affect cyanobacterial development and antioxidant defense enzymes.
Keywords: Microcystin; Nitrogen; Oxidative stress; Titanium dioxide nanoparticles.
© 2023. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.