Inhibitory effects of ultralow-dose sodium hypochlorite on Microcystis aeruginosa and Chlorella vulgaris: Differences in sensitivity and physiology

Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, the application of residual free chlorine has been emphasized as an effective disinfectant; however, the discharged residual chlorine is associated with potential ecological risk at concentrations even below 0.1 mg/L. However, the influence of free chlorine at ultralow-doses (far below 0.01 mg/L) on phytoplankton remains unclear. Due to limitations of detection limit and non-linear dissolution, different dilution rates (1/500, 1/1000, 1/5000, 1/10000, and 1/50000 DR) of a NaClO stock solution (1 mg/L) were adopted to represent ultralow-dose NaClO gradients. Two typical microalgae species, cyanobacterium Microcystis aeruginosa and chlorophyta Chlorella vulgaris, were explored under solo- and co-culture conditions to analyze the inhibitory effects of NaClO on microalgae growth and membrane damage. Additionally, the effects of ultralow-dose NaClO on photosynthesis activity, intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) production, and esterase activity were investigated, in order to explore physiological changes and sensitivity. With an initial microalgae cell density of approximately 1 × 106 cell/mL, an inhibitory effect on M. aeruginosa was achieved at a NaClO dosage above 1/10000 DR, which was lower than that of C. vulgaris (above 1/5000 DR). The variation in membrane integrity and photosynthetic activity further demonstrated that the sensitivity of M. aeruginosa to NaClO was higher than that of C. vulgaris, both in solo- and co-culture conditions. Moreover, NaClO is able to interfere with photosynthetic activity, ROS levels, and esterase activity. Photosynthetic activity declined gradually in both microalgae species under sensitive NaClO dosage, but esterase activity increased more rapidly in M. aeruginosa, similar to the behavior of ROS in C. vulgaris. These findings of differing NaClO sensitivity and variations in physiological activity between the two microalgae species contribute to a clearer understanding of the potential ecological risk associated with ultralow-dose chlorine, and provide a basis for practical considerations. [Display omitted] •Ultralow-dose NaClO is effective in inhibiting microalgal growth.•Growth inhibition of M. aeruginosa by NaClO is more sensitive than C. vulgaris.•Suppression effects upon NaClO under both solo-culture and co-culture conditions were investigated.•Both esterase and ROS of M. aeruginosa show stronger dependence on NaClO than on C. vulgaris.•Esterase activity of M. aeruginosa respon