Evaluation of growth and antioxidant responses of freshwater microalgae Chlorella sorokiniana and Scenedesmus dimorphus under exposure of moxifloxacin

As one of the fourth-generation fluoroquinolone antibiotics, moxifloxacin (MOX) has been frequently released to the aquatic environment, threatening local organisms. However, researches on its ecotoxicity to aquatic organisms are still limited. This study analyzed effects of MOX on the growth, photosynthesis and oxidative stress of two common types of freshwater microalgae, Chlorella sorokiniana and Scenedesmus dimorphus. The 96 h-EC50 values of MOX for C. sorokiniana and S. dimorphus were 28.42 and 26.37 mg/L, respectively. Although variations of specific indicators for photosynthetic fluorescence intensity were different, photosystems of two types of microalgae were irreversibly damaged. The malondialdehyde content and superoxide dismutase of C. sorokiniana and S. dimorphus evidently increased, indicating that the exposure of MOX caused serious oxidative stress. Chlorophyll a, b and carotenoids contents of C. sorokiniana increased, probably resulting from the resistance to oxidative stress, whereas they were inhibited due to oxidation damage as for S. dimorphus. Risk quotients (RQs) of MOX for C. sorokiniana and S. dimorphus in wastewater were 7.882 and 8.495, respectively, which demonstrated that MOX had a considerable risk to aquatic environment, especially in the context of its increasing use in practice.