INTERACTIONS OF ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTANTS WITH MICROALGAE AND LICHEN: INSIGHTS FROM MULTI-PLATFORM METABOLOMICS
In this thesis, the interactions of environmental pollutants with microalgae and lichens were investigated using multi-platform metabolomics. In chapter 2, differentiated metabolites in microalgae Chlorella vulgaris and Scenedesmus obliquus after exposure to triphenyl phosphate revealed perturbation in respiration, osmoregulation, photosynthesis, and oxidative stress. In chapter 3, we showed that the metabolic responses of C. vulgaris exposed to copper oxide microparticles and nanoparticles were similar compared with those to copper ion exposure in the metabolism of chlorophylls, membrane lipids, glutathione, and osmolytes. Only fatty acids oxidation was particle-specific. In chapter 4, elemental and metabolic profiles of the lichen Dirinaria picta after exposure to road traffic revealed heavy metal detoxification mechanism through reactive oxygen species scavenging, osmoregulation and chelating with N atom and sulfhydryl group, as well as depletion of certain secondary metabolites. Overall, these results provided new insights into the detoxification mechanisms of microalgae and lichens to environmental pollutants.
metabolic pathway,toxicology,biomonitor,high resolution mass spectrometry, nuclear magnetic resonance,chromatography
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