Food waste constitutes the largest component of municipal solid waste in many urbanized societies. The current practice of disposing of biodegradable food waste mixed with other solid wastes to landfills is not sustainable and is environmentally undesirable. Moreover, the leakage of nutrient-rich food waste leachate (FWL) impacts the environment by eutrophication of the water body. Two robust microalgal species, Dunaliella tertiolecta (D. tertiolecta) and Cyanobacterium aponinum (C. aponinum), have been selected previously for the treatment of FWL because they can tolerate diluted FWL. However, growth suppression by some inhibiting factors, such as total suspended solids and organic nitrogen, limited biomass productivity, and substantial dilution (5–10% v/v FWL) was required. To alleviate this suppression, anaerobic bacterial digestion was proposed to pretreat FWL and convert certain nutrients such as organic nitrogen to ammonium. The pretreatment was optimized in neutral to slightly alkaline media, where a byproduct of biomethane up to 4.67 L methane/kg COD was produced. In addition, digestate after anaerobic ammonification can provide sufficient inorganic nutrients for subsequent microalgal biofuel production. Through batch cultivation, 50% (v/v) of anaerobic bacterial pretreated FWL digestate can be fed to D. tertiolecta, with biomass productivity of up to 0.88 g/L/day, and biomass productivity can be increased to 0.34 g/L/day for C. aponinum at 30% FWL digestate. Regarding the nutrient removal efficiency, 98.99% of total nitrogen and 65% of total phosphorus can be removed by D. tertiolecta, whereas more than 80% of total nitrogen and 65% of total phosphorus can be removed by C. aponinum. The use of anaerobic bacterial ammonification pretreatment can significantly improve the performance of subsequent microalgal treatments and has been shown to be a sustainable green technology for biofuel production and FWL recycling.

Unusually large amounts of marine snow, including Extracellular Polymeric Substances (EPS), were formed during the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill. The marine snow settled with oil and clay minerals as an oily sludge layer on the deep sea floor. This study tested the hypothesis that the unprecedented amount of chemical dispersants applied during high phytoplankton densities in the Gulf of Mexico induced high EPS formation. Two marine phytoplankton species (Dunaliella tertiolecta and Phaeodactylum tricornutum) produced EPS within days when exposed to the dispersant Corexit 9500. Phytoplankton-associated bacteria were shown to be responsible for the formation. The EPS consisted of proteins and to lesser extent polysaccharides. This study reveals an unexpected consequence of the presence of phytoplankton. This emphasizes the need to test the action of dispersants under realistic field conditions, which may seriously alter the fate of oil in the environment via increased marine snow formation.

There is evidence that water-soluble fraction (WSF) from fuel oil/diesel mixture affects marine microbiota. In order to establish a sequence of WSF effects during microalgal growth, this work aimed to monitor Dunaliella tertiolecta exposed to WSF during 15 days. Three different pigments (chlorophyll a, lutein, and β-carotene) and four metabolites (protein, lipids, fatty acids, and phenols) were studied, and FTIR spectroscopy was used to determine the biomolecular transitions of lipids and their accumulation. The results show that D. tertiolecta triggered a physiological and biochemical response with changes in growth rate, pigments, phenols, lipids, and proteins of the microalga, although fatty acid profile was unaltered. For all the biochemical parameters altered, there were significant differences with the controls. At the end of the assay, exposed D. tertiolecta showed similar values with the control on all the compounds analyzed, except lipids. FTIR absorbance showed an increase in unsaturated acyl chains within the exposed microalgae, giving support for a possible uptake of hydrocarbons from WSF. Variation in pigments and phenol contents is presented as an integrated antioxidant response to the stress imposed by WSF. Overall, this research provides information about the effects of WSF on D. tertiolecta, and the ability of this microalga to recover after long-term exposure to the water-soluble fraction of fuel oil/diesel.

Foodwaste leachate (FWL) is often generated during foodwaste treatment processes. Owing to its high nutrient content, FWL has high potential for phycoremediation, a microalgal technology application for water treatment while acting as CO₂ fixation tank. Additionally, the end product of microalgal from phycoremediation can be potentially used for biodiesel production. Therefore, the phycoremediation has drawn a lot of attention in recent decades. This study evaluates the performance of microalgal foodwaste leachate treatment and the potential of utilizing FWL as medium for microalgal biodiesel production. Two microalgal species, Dunaliella tertiolecta and Cyanobacterium aponinum, were selected. For each species, two experimental levels of diluted FWL were used: 5 and 10% FWL. The partial inhibition growth model indicates that some inhibit factors such as ammonia; total suspended solids and oil and grease (O&G) content suppress the microalgal growth. Most of the nutrient such as nitrogen and phosphorus (> 80%) can be removed in the last day of phycoremediation by D. tertiolecta. C. aponinum also show considerable removal rate on total nitrogen ammonia and nitrate (> 60%). Biomass (0.4–0.5 g/L/day) of D. tertiolecta and C. aponinum can be produced though cultivated in diluted FWL. The bio-CO₂ fixation rates of the two species were 610.7 and 578.3 mg/L/day of D. tertiolecta and C. aponinum. The strains contain high content of saturated fatty acid such as C₁₆ and C₁₈ making them having potential for producing good quality biodiesel.

The present study investigates the phenolic profile of exudates and extracts of the green algae Dunaliella tertiolecta, harvested in natural seawater in the absence (control) and in the presence of Cu(II) (315 and 790 nmol L⁻¹) and Fe(III) (900 nmol L⁻¹) in order to identify and quantify the phenolic compounds produced under metallic stress conditions. The presence of metal ions modifies the growth of cells and changes cell metabolism by producing phenolic compounds adapted to the solution. The use of reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC) permitted the identification of 14 phenolic constituents. The concentration and type of polyphenols detected in cell extracts and in solution are directly related with the metal and its concentration during growth cultures, achieving 1.4 times higher levels of polyphenols under 790 nmol Cu(II) L⁻¹ with respect to the control experiments. Microalga excretes polyphenols to be adapted to the environmental conditions. Gentisic acid, (+) catechin and (−) epicatechin, the most prominent phenolic compounds detected in the algae extracts, showed high antioxidant activity in inhibiting 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radicals. This potent activity may be related to its presence in cells and exudates in high concentrations.

Zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO NPs) are increasingly used in several personal care products, with high potential to be released directly into marine environment with consequent adverse impact on marine biota. This paper aimed to compare the ecotoxicological effect of ZnO NPs (< 100 nm) towards three marine organisms widely used in toxicity assessment: an algal species (Dunaliella tertiolecta), a bioluminescent bacterium (Vibrio fischeri), and a crustacean (Artemia salina). Bulk ZnO (ZnO bulk, 200 nm) and ionic zinc were also investigated for understanding the role of size and of ionic release in the ZnO toxic action. To this aim, different ecotoxicological tests were used: the inhibition of bioluminescence with V. fischeri at three exposure times (5, 15, and 30 min); the D. tertiolecta growth inhibition at 24, 48, and 72 h; the A. salina mortality at 24–96 h, and A. salina mortality and body growth each 3 days along chronic exposure (14 days). For all selected species, ZnO NPs toxicity was strictly dependent on the exposure time and different sensitivities were recorded: ZnO NPs were more toxic towards algae (EC₅₀ 2.2 mg Zn/L) but relatively less toxic towards bacteria (EC₅₀ 17 mg Zn/L) and crustaceans (EC₅₀ 96 h 58 mg Zn/L). During the 14-day chronic exposure of A. salina, ZnO NPs had a significant inhibition of vitality and body length (EC₅₀14d 0.02 mg Zn/L), while the effect of ZnSO₄ was not statistically different from the control. ZnO NP toxicity was related to zinc ions and to interactions of particle/aggregates with target organisms and therefore to NP behavior in the testing matrix and to the different testing time exposures.

Anthropogenic inputs of chemical environmental contaminants are frequently associated with developing harmful algal blooms, but little is known about how estuarine phytoplankton assemblages respond to multiple, co-occurring chemical stressors in chronically disturbed habitats. The goals of this research were to establish a robust protocol for testing the effects of atrazine on estuarine phytoplankton, and then to use that protocol to compare the effects of atrazine exposure with and without nutrient enrichment on a cosmopolitan estuarine/marine alga, Dunaliella tertiolecta (Chlorophyta). Atrazine sensitivity in nutrient-replete media (96-h growth inhibition [Formula: see text]) was 159.16 μg l⁻¹, but sensitivity was influenced by exposure duration, and inhibitory effects of herbicide on algal growth decreased under imbalanced nutrient regimes and low nitrogen and phosphorus supplies. These findings advance knowledge about how nutrient regimes and herbicides interact to control estuarine phytoplankton population dynamics.

The Mar Piccolo of Taranto (Ionian Sea, Southern Italy) is a semi-enclosed and strongly polluted basin. For decades, it has been subjected to different anthropogenic impacts. These stressors caused severe sediments contamination with high concentration of different pollutants (PAHs, PCB, heavy metals). In order to assess the current status of sediments contamination, an ecotoxicological investigation combined with chemical analysis (heavy metals, PAH, and PCB) has been performed. In order to derive ecologically relevant conclusions, a multiorganisms and multiend-points approach has been applied, exposing organisms from different trophic levels to elutriate and whole sediment. The battery of bioassays consists of a microalgal growth inhibition test (Dunaliella tertiolecta), acute and sublethal assays (end-points: mortality, immobilization and swimming speed alteration) on crustaceans larvae and juveniles, and rotifers (Amphibalanus amphitrite, Artemia salina, Corophium insidiosum and Brachionus plicatilis), and embryotoxicity test on echinoderms (Paracentrotus lividus). Considering the high levels of sediment contamination highlighted from chemical analysis, an unexpected very low toxic effect was observed, even considering the sublethal end-point (larval swimming speed alteration). The results of this study suggest a very complex contaminants dynamic in the Mar Piccolo sediments that, despite a strong level of contamination, seems to not affect in a proportional manner the biological compartment.

Nanoparticles (NPs) are widely used in many industrial applications. NP fate and behavior in seawater are a very important issue for the assessment of their environmental impact and potential toxicity. In this study, the toxic effects of two nanomaterials, silicon dioxide (SiO₂) and titanium dioxide (TiO₂) NPs with similar primary size (~20 nm), on marine microalgae Dunaliella tertiolecta were investigated and compared. The dispersion behavior of SiO₂ and TiO₂ NPs in seawater matrix was investigated together with the relative trend of the exposed algal population growth. SiO₂ aggregates rapidly reached a constant size (600 nm) irrespective of the concentration while TiO₂ NP aggregates grew up to 4 ± 5 μm. The dose–response curve and population growth rate alteration of marine alga D. tertiolecta were evaluated showing that the algal population was clearly affected by the presence of TiO₂ NPs. These particles showed effects on 50 % of the population at 24.10 [19.38–25.43] mg L⁻¹ (EC50) and a no observed effect concentration (NOEC) at 7.5 mg L⁻¹. The 1 % effect concentration (EC1) value was nearly above the actual estimated environmental concentration in the aquatic environment. SiO₂ NPs were less toxic than TiO₂ for D. tertiolecta, with EC50 and NOEC values one order of magnitude higher. The overall toxic action seemed due to the contact between aggregates and cell surfaces, but while for SiO₂ a direct action upon membrane integrity could be observed after the third day of exposure, TiO₂ seemed to exert its toxic action in the first hours of exposure, mostly via cell entrapment and agglomeration.