title: Spore release by the green alga Ulva: a quantitative assay to evaluate aquatic toxicants.
abstract: A toxicity test using spore release of the aquatic green alga, Ulva, was developed and evaluated by assessing the toxicity of different organic and inorganic chemicals and elutriates of sewage or waste sludge. The toxic ranking of four metals was: Cu (EC50 of 0.040mgL(-1))>Cd (0.095mgL(-1))>Pb (0.489mgL(-1))>Zn (0.572mgL(-1)). The EC50 for TBTO ranged from 24 to 63microgL(-1). The most toxic VOC was formalin (EC50 of 0.788microlL(-1)) and the least toxic was acetone. Spore release was significantly inhibited in all elutriates; the greatest and least toxic effects were for industrial sewage (3.29%) and filtration bed (10.08%), respectively. The bioassay is simple, inexpensive and sensitive. The cosmopolitan distribution of Ulva means that the test would have a potential application worldwide.
authors.affiliation: Division of Biology and Chemistry, University of Incheon, 177 Dohwa-dong, Nam-gu, Incheon 402-749, Republic of Korea. hanalgae@incheon.ac.kr
authors.forename: Taejun
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Han
authors.forename: Young-Seok
authors.initials: YS
authors.lastname: Han
authors.forename: Chin Young
authors.initials: CY
authors.lastname: Park
authors.forename: Yong Sung
authors.initials: YS
authors.lastname: Jun
authors.forename: Mun Ju
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Kwon
authors.forename: Sung-Ho
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Kang
authors.forename: Murray T
authors.initials: MT
authors.lastname: Brown
mesh_terms: D000096:Acetone / Q000633:toxicity; D001681:Biological Assay / Q000379:methods*; D002104:Cadmium / Q000633:toxicity; D003300:Copper / Q000633:toxicity; D004784:Environmental Monitoring / Q000379:methods; D005557:Formaldehyde / Q000633:toxicity; D007220:Industrial Waste; D007854:Lead / Q000633:toxicity; D012722:Sewage; D013170:Spores; D018675:Toxicity Tests / Q000379:methods*; D044445:Ulva / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology; D014865:Waste Disposal, Fluid; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000633:toxicity*; D015032:Zinc / Q000633:toxicity
chemical_list: D007220:Industrial Waste; D012722:Sewage; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical; D002104:Cadmium; D000096:Acetone; D005557:Formaldehyde; D007854:Lead; D003300:Copper; D015032:Zinc