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The allelopathy and allelopathic mechanism of phenolic acids on toxic Microcystis aeruginosa

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Abstract

Cyanobacterial contamination of water has been a serious problem in recent years. Thus, the effective control of undesired cyanobacteria has become an urgent issue. We studied therefore the effects of ρ-coumaric acid and vanillic acid on toxic Microcystis aeruginosa and the allelopathic mechanisms. The results showed that the growth of toxic M. aeruginosa was significantly inhibited by ρ-coumaric acid and vanillic acid, with an EC50 of 0.26 ± 0.07 and 0.34 ± 0.05 mmol L−1, respectively. Our data also demonstrated that both ρ-coumaric acid and vanillic acid triggered the generation of superoxide anion radicals (O2 •−). The O2 •− might induce a lipid peroxidation which may change cell membrane penetrability, thereby leading to the eventual death of M. aeruginosa. Our current studies further provide evidence that some phenolic acids such as ρ-coumaric acid and vanillic acid may be a potential effective solution for aquatic management.

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Acknowledgments

This study was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No.30870429) and the Provincial Key Laboratory of Biotic Environment and Ecological Safety in Anhui.

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Correspondence to Ting-Ting Zhang.

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Zhang, TT., Zheng, CY., Hu, W. et al. The allelopathy and allelopathic mechanism of phenolic acids on toxic Microcystis aeruginosa . J Appl Phycol 22, 71–77 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10811-009-9429-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10811-009-9429-6

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