Bioaccumulation and Biodegradation of Sulfamethazine in Chlorella pyrenoidosa Bioaccumulation and Biodegradation of Sulfamethazine in Chlorella pyrenoidosa

Intensive use of sulfamethazine(SM_2) in aquaculture has resulted in some detrimental effects to non-targeted organisms. In order to assess its potential ecological risk, it is crucial to have a good understanding on the bioaccumulation and biodegradation of SM_2 in Chlorella pyrenoidosa. The microalgae were treated with 2, 4, and 8 mg L~(-1) of sulfamethazine for 13 days, respectively, showing that the inhibition effects of sulfamethazine on the growth of Chlorella pyrenoidosa increased progressively as the concentrations of sulfamethazine increasing from 2 to 8 mg L~(-1). The peak concentrations of sulfamethazine accumulated in C. pyrenoidosa were 0.225, 0.325, and 0.596 ng per mg FW on day 13 for three treatment groups, respectively, showing a great ability to deplete sulfamethazine from the culture media. On day 13, the percentages of biotic degradation were 48.45%, 60.21% and 69.93%, respectively. The EC_(50) of 10.05 mg L~(-1) was derived which showed no significant risk for C. pyrenoidosa with a calculated risk quotient < 1. The activities of superoxide dismutase and catalase increased progressively in response to sulfamethazine and showed a positive correlation to the treatment concentrations. The highest superoxide dismutase activity was achieved at the concentration of 8 mg L~(-1) after 2 d of exposure, which was 1.89 folds higher than that of the control. The activity of catalase has a similar pattern to that of superoxide dismutase with the maximum activity achieved at day 2, which was 3.11 folds higher compared to that of the control. In contrast to superoxide dismutase and catalase, the maximum glutathione S-transferase activity was observed at day 6, showing 2.2 folds higher than that of the control