The Ability of Airborne Microalgae and Cyanobacteria to Survive and Transfer the Carcinogenic Benzo(a)pyrene in Coastal Regions

Air pollution has been a significant problem threatening human health for years. One commonly reported air pollutant is benzo(a)pyrene, a dangerous compound with carcinogenic properties. Values which exceed normative values for benzo(a)pyrene concentration in the air are often noted in many regions...

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Published in:Cells
Main Authors: Kinga A. Wiśniewska, Anita U. Lewandowska, Sylwia Śliwińska-Wilczewska, Marta Staniszewska, Gracjana Budzałek
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2023
Subjects:
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.3390/cells12071073
https://doaj.org/article/29da7e5de5bb4c7a90cec3a91a92cac0
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spelling ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:29da7e5de5bb4c7a90cec3a91a92cac0 2023-10-09T21:50:04+02:00 The Ability of Airborne Microalgae and Cyanobacteria to Survive and Transfer the Carcinogenic Benzo(a)pyrene in Coastal Regions Kinga A. Wiśniewska Anita U. Lewandowska Sylwia Śliwińska-Wilczewska Marta Staniszewska Gracjana Budzałek 2023-04-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.3390/cells12071073 https://doaj.org/article/29da7e5de5bb4c7a90cec3a91a92cac0 EN eng MDPI AG https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4409/12/7/1073 https://doaj.org/toc/2073-4409 doi:10.3390/cells12071073 2073-4409 https://doaj.org/article/29da7e5de5bb4c7a90cec3a91a92cac0 Cells, Vol 12, Iss 1073, p 1073 (2023) bioaerosols airborne cyanobacteria airborne microalgae benzo(a)pyrene PAHs Cytology QH573-671 article 2023 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.3390/cells12071073 2023-09-10T00:40:39Z Air pollution has been a significant problem threatening human health for years. One commonly reported air pollutant is benzo(a)pyrene, a dangerous compound with carcinogenic properties. Values which exceed normative values for benzo(a)pyrene concentration in the air are often noted in many regions of the world. Studies on the worldwide spread of COVID-19 since 2020, as well as avian flu, measles, and SARS, have proven that viruses and bacteria are more dangerous to human health when they occur in polluted air. Regarding cyanobacteria and microalgae, little is known about their relationship with benzo(a)pyrene. The question is whether these microorganisms can pose a threat when present in poor quality air. We initially assessed whether cyanobacteria and microalgae isolated from the atmosphere are sensitive to changes in PAH concentrations and whether they can accumulate or degrade PAHs. The presence of B(a)P has significantly affected both the quantity of cyanobacteria and microalgae cells as well as their chlorophyll a (chl a ) content and their ability to fluorescence. For many cyanobacteria and microalgae, an increase in cell numbers was observed after the addition of B(a)P. Therefore, even slight air pollution with benzo(a)pyrene is likely to facilitate the growth of airborne cyanobacteria and microalgae. The results provided an assessment of the organisms that are most susceptible to cellular stress following exposure to benzo(a)pyrene, as well as the potential consequences for the environment. Additionally, the results indicated that green algae have the greatest potential for degrading PAHs, making their use a promising bioremediation approach. Kirchneriella sp. demonstrated the highest average degradation of B(a)P, with the above-mentioned research indicating it can even degrade up to 80% of B(a)P. The other studied green algae exhibited a lower, yet still significant, B(a)P degradation rate exceeding 50% when compared to cyanobacteria and diatoms. Article in Journal/Newspaper Avian flu Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Cells 12 7 1073
institution Open Polar
collection Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles
op_collection_id ftdoajarticles
language English
topic bioaerosols
airborne cyanobacteria
airborne microalgae
benzo(a)pyrene
PAHs
Cytology
QH573-671
spellingShingle bioaerosols
airborne cyanobacteria
airborne microalgae
benzo(a)pyrene
PAHs
Cytology
QH573-671
Kinga A. Wiśniewska
Anita U. Lewandowska
Sylwia Śliwińska-Wilczewska
Marta Staniszewska
Gracjana Budzałek
The Ability of Airborne Microalgae and Cyanobacteria to Survive and Transfer the Carcinogenic Benzo(a)pyrene in Coastal Regions
topic_facet bioaerosols
airborne cyanobacteria
airborne microalgae
benzo(a)pyrene
PAHs
Cytology
QH573-671
description Air pollution has been a significant problem threatening human health for years. One commonly reported air pollutant is benzo(a)pyrene, a dangerous compound with carcinogenic properties. Values which exceed normative values for benzo(a)pyrene concentration in the air are often noted in many regions of the world. Studies on the worldwide spread of COVID-19 since 2020, as well as avian flu, measles, and SARS, have proven that viruses and bacteria are more dangerous to human health when they occur in polluted air. Regarding cyanobacteria and microalgae, little is known about their relationship with benzo(a)pyrene. The question is whether these microorganisms can pose a threat when present in poor quality air. We initially assessed whether cyanobacteria and microalgae isolated from the atmosphere are sensitive to changes in PAH concentrations and whether they can accumulate or degrade PAHs. The presence of B(a)P has significantly affected both the quantity of cyanobacteria and microalgae cells as well as their chlorophyll a (chl a ) content and their ability to fluorescence. For many cyanobacteria and microalgae, an increase in cell numbers was observed after the addition of B(a)P. Therefore, even slight air pollution with benzo(a)pyrene is likely to facilitate the growth of airborne cyanobacteria and microalgae. The results provided an assessment of the organisms that are most susceptible to cellular stress following exposure to benzo(a)pyrene, as well as the potential consequences for the environment. Additionally, the results indicated that green algae have the greatest potential for degrading PAHs, making their use a promising bioremediation approach. Kirchneriella sp. demonstrated the highest average degradation of B(a)P, with the above-mentioned research indicating it can even degrade up to 80% of B(a)P. The other studied green algae exhibited a lower, yet still significant, B(a)P degradation rate exceeding 50% when compared to cyanobacteria and diatoms.
format Article in Journal/Newspaper
author Kinga A. Wiśniewska
Anita U. Lewandowska
Sylwia Śliwińska-Wilczewska
Marta Staniszewska
Gracjana Budzałek
author_facet Kinga A. Wiśniewska
Anita U. Lewandowska
Sylwia Śliwińska-Wilczewska
Marta Staniszewska
Gracjana Budzałek
author_sort Kinga A. Wiśniewska
title The Ability of Airborne Microalgae and Cyanobacteria to Survive and Transfer the Carcinogenic Benzo(a)pyrene in Coastal Regions
title_short The Ability of Airborne Microalgae and Cyanobacteria to Survive and Transfer the Carcinogenic Benzo(a)pyrene in Coastal Regions
title_full The Ability of Airborne Microalgae and Cyanobacteria to Survive and Transfer the Carcinogenic Benzo(a)pyrene in Coastal Regions
title_fullStr The Ability of Airborne Microalgae and Cyanobacteria to Survive and Transfer the Carcinogenic Benzo(a)pyrene in Coastal Regions
title_full_unstemmed The Ability of Airborne Microalgae and Cyanobacteria to Survive and Transfer the Carcinogenic Benzo(a)pyrene in Coastal Regions
title_sort ability of airborne microalgae and cyanobacteria to survive and transfer the carcinogenic benzo(a)pyrene in coastal regions
publisher MDPI AG
publishDate 2023
url https://doi.org/10.3390/cells12071073
https://doaj.org/article/29da7e5de5bb4c7a90cec3a91a92cac0
genre Avian flu
genre_facet Avian flu
op_source Cells, Vol 12, Iss 1073, p 1073 (2023)
op_relation https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4409/12/7/1073
https://doaj.org/toc/2073-4409
doi:10.3390/cells12071073
2073-4409
https://doaj.org/article/29da7e5de5bb4c7a90cec3a91a92cac0
op_doi https://doi.org/10.3390/cells12071073
container_title Cells
container_volume 12
container_issue 7
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