Assessment of the effects of As(III) treatment on cyanobacteria lipidomic profiles by LC-MS and MCR-ALS.
Cyanobacteria are a group of photosynthetic, nitrogen-fixing bacteria present in a wide variety of habitats such as freshwater, marine, and terrestrial ecosystems. In this work, the effects of As(III), a major toxic environmental pollutant, on the lipidomic profiles of two cyanobacteria species (Anabaena and Planktothrix agardhii) were assessed by means of a recently proposed method based on the concept of regions of interest (ROI) in liquid chromatography mass spectroscopy (LC-MS) together with multivariate curve resolution alternating least squares (MCR-ALS). Cyanobacteria were exposed to two concentrations of As(III) for a week, and lipid extracts were analyzed by ultrahigh-performance liquid chromatography/time-of-flight mass spectrometry in full scan mode. The data obtained were compressed by means of the ROI strategy, and the resulting LC-MS data sets were analyzed by the MCR-ALS method. Comparison of profile peak areas resolved by MCR-ALS in control and exposed samples allowed the discrimination of lipids whose concentrations were changed due to As(III) treatment. The tentative identification of these lipids revealed an important reduction of the levels of some galactolipids such as monogalactosyldiacylglycerol, the pigment chlorophyll a and its degradation product, pheophytin a, as well as carotene compounds such as 3-hydroxycarotene and carotene-3,3'-dione, all of these compounds being essential in the photosynthetic process. These results suggested that As(III) induced important changes in the composition of lipids of cyanobacteria, which were able to compromise their energy production processes. Graphical abstract Steps of the proposed LC-MS + MCR-ALS procedure.
Biological Chemistry and Chemometrics, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte (UFRN-IQ), Natal, 59071-970, Brazil.
Aline S
AS
Marques
Institute of Environmental Assessment and Water Diagnostic (IDAEA-CSIC), Jordi Girona 18-26, 08028, Barcelona, Spain.
Carmen
C
Bedia
Biological Chemistry and Chemometrics, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte (UFRN-IQ), Natal, 59071-970, Brazil.
Kássio M G
KMG
Lima
Institute of Environmental Assessment and Water Diagnostic (IDAEA-CSIC), Jordi Girona 18-26, 08028, Barcelona, Spain. roma.tauler@idaea.csic.es.
Romà
R
Tauler
D017033:Anabaena / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism / Q000648:ultrastructure; D001151:Arsenic / Q000378:metabolism*; D002734:Chlorophyll / Q000378:metabolism*; D002851:Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid / Q000379:methods; D000458:Cyanobacteria / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000648:ultrastructure; D004785:Environmental Pollutants / Q000378:metabolism*; D016018:Least-Squares Analysis; D050356:Lipid Metabolism / Q000187:drug effects*; D013058:Mass Spectrometry / Q000379:methods; D015999:Multivariate Analysis
D004785:Environmental Pollutants; D002734:Chlorophyll; D001151:Arsenic
As(III); Cyanobacteria; LC-MS; MCR-ALS