Increased toxic effect of methylmercury on Chlorella vulgaris under high light and cold stress conditions

The toxic effect of methylmercury on the photosynthetic activity of Chlorella vulgaris was shown to increase under high illumination and unfavorable low temperature. Increased toxic action of methylmercury resulted from the decreased capacity of photosystem II (PS II) for reparation. It was proposed that mild stress conditions might be used to enhance the detection limit of toxicants by microalgae used as test objects.