Toxicity of arsenite and arsenate to the marine macroalga Champia Parvula (rhodophyta)

Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
By a previously established test procedure that uses 4.5 μM phosphate in the medium, the marine red alga Champiaparvula (C. Agardh) Harvey was shown to be more sensitive to arsenite [As(III)] than to arsenate [As(V)]. Mature cystocarps (evidence of sexual reproduction) were formed when plants were exposed to 65 μg As(III)/L, but not when exposed to 95 μg As(III)/L. Three hundred micrograms As(III)/L was sufficient to kill C. parvula. Using the standardized test, plants grew just as well in 10,000 μg As(V)/L as they did in the controls; however, sexual reproduction did not occur at this concentration. Phosphate concentration up to 9.1 μM had little or no effect on As(III) toxicity. Arsenate toxicity, however, was inversely proportional to the amount of phosphate in the medium. In the absence of added phosphate, As(V) toxicity was similar to that of As(III), except plants were still alive at 1,076 μg As(V)/L (although they did not grow).

This publication has 18 references indexed in Scilit: