title: Toxicity of graphene oxide to white rot fungus Phanerochaete chrysosporium.
abstract: With the wide production and applications of graphene and its derivatives, their toxicity to the environment has received much attention nowadays. In this study, we investigated the toxicity of graphene oxide (GO) to white rot fungus (Phanerochaete chrysosporium). GO was prepared by modified Hummers method and well characterized before use. P. chrysosporium was exposed to GO at the concentrations of 0-4 mg/mL for 7 d. The fresh and dry weights, pH values of culture media, structures, ultrastructures, IR spectra and activities of the decomposition of pollutants were measured to reveal the hazards of GO to P. chrysosporium. Our results indicated that low concentrations of GO stimulated the growth of P. chrysosporium. The exposure to GO induced more acidic pH values of the culture media after 7 d. GO induced the disruption of the fiber structure of P. chrysosporium, while at 4 mg/mL some very long and thick fibers were formed. Such changes were reflected in the scanning electron microscopy investigations, where the disruption of fibers was observed. In the ultrastructural investigations, the shape of P. chrysosporium cells changed and more vesicles were found upon the exposure to GO. The infrared spectroscopy analyses suggested that the chemical compositions of mycelia were not changed qualitatively. Beyond the toxicity, GO did not alter the activities of P. chrysosporium at low concentrations, but led to the complete loss of activity at high concentrations. The implication to the ecological safety of graphene is discussed.
authors.affiliation: College of Chemistry and Environment Protection Engineering, Southwest University for Nationalities, Chengdu, 610041, China.
authors.forename: Jingru
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Xie
authors.affiliation: College of Chemistry and Environment Protection Engineering, Southwest University for Nationalities, Chengdu, 610041, China.
authors.forename: Zhu
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Ming
authors.affiliation: College of Chemistry and Environment Protection Engineering, Southwest University for Nationalities, Chengdu, 610041, China.
authors.forename: Hongliang
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: College of Chemistry and Environment Protection Engineering, Southwest University for Nationalities, Chengdu, 610041, China.
authors.forename: Hua
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: College of Chemistry and Environment Protection Engineering, Southwest University for Nationalities, Chengdu, 610041, China.
authors.forename: Baowei
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Yu
authors.affiliation: College of Chemistry and Environment Protection Engineering, Southwest University for Nationalities, Chengdu, 610041, China.
authors.forename: Ruihan
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.affiliation: College of Chemistry and Environment Protection Engineering, Southwest University for Nationalities, Chengdu, 610041, China.
authors.forename: Xiaoyang
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: College of Chemistry and Environment Protection Engineering, Southwest University for Nationalities, Chengdu, 610041, China.
authors.forename: Yitong
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Bai
authors.affiliation: College of Chemistry and Environment Protection Engineering, Southwest University for Nationalities, Chengdu, 610041, China. Electronic address: yangst@pku.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Sheng-Tao
authors.initials: ST
authors.lastname: Yang
mesh_terms: D003470:Culture Media / Q000737:chemistry; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D004785:Environmental Pollutants / Q000633:toxicity*; D006108:Graphite / Q000633:toxicity*; D008855:Microscopy, Electron, Scanning; D025282:Mycelium / Q000187:drug effects / Q000648:ultrastructure; D049329:Nanostructures / Q000633:toxicity*; D010087:Oxides / Q000633:toxicity; D020075:Phanerochaete / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000254:growth & development / Q000648:ultrastructure; D017550:Spectroscopy, Fourier Transform Infrared
chemical_list: D003470:Culture Media; D004785:Environmental Pollutants; D010087:Oxides; D006108:Graphite
keywords: Decomposition activity; Growth inhibition; Nano-biosafety; Nanomaterials; Structure disruption