Cao Boyang, Chivkunova O., Solovchenko A., Lobakova E., Oleskin A.
RJEE Vol. 10 (4). 2025 | DOI: 10.21685/2500-0578-2025-4-4
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Receipt date 27.07.2025 | Publication date 26.12.2025
DOI 10.21685/2500-0578-2025-4-4
NEUROTRANSMITTERS AS ECOPOLLUTANTS: IMPACT ON THE FATTY-ACID COMPOSITION AND PHOTOSYNTHETIC PIGMENT CONTENT OF CHLORELLA VULGARIS
Cao Boyang1, O.B. Chivkunova2, A.E. Solovchenko3, E.S. Lobakova4, A.V. Oleskin5
1 Shenzhen MSU-BIT University, 1 International University Park Road, Shenzhen, Guangdong Province, China
2, 3, 4, 5 Moscow State University named after M.V. Lomonosov, Moscow, Russia
5 oleskiny@yandex.ru
Abstract. Neurotransmitters including acetylcholine, serotonin, dopamine, norepinephrine, and histamine represent new-generation ecopollutants and, in addition, endogenous regulatory and signal substances released by the components of natural ecosystems. The goal of the present work was to investigate the effects of neurotransmitters on the fatty-acid composition of membrane lipids and the photosynthetic pigment content of a widely spread phytoplankton component and an indicator organism used for estimating environmental pollution, the green microalga Chlorella vulgaris. Strain C. vulgaris Beijer was aseptically cultivated under photoautotrophic conditions in modified Tamiya medium. Upon inoculation, all experimental cultures except the control one were supplemented with 1, 10, or 100 mM acetylcholine, serotonin, dopamine, norepinephrine, or histamine. Lipid analysis and fatty acid determination were performed by chromatography with mass spectrometry. Chlorophylls а and b as well as carotenoids were determined spectrophotometrically. Acetylcholine, dopamine, and norepinephrine increase the total fatty acid content of the lipid of C. vulgaris cells whereas histamine and serotonin decrease the fatty acid content. Acetylcholine and histamine statistically significantly augmented the percentage of polyunsaturated fatty acids and decreased that of saturated and/or monounsaturated fatty acids. Serotonin significantly reduced the monounsaturated fatty acids and saturated fatty acids percentage but its influence on the polyunsaturated fatty acids percentage was not statistically verifiable. All tested neurotransmitters increased the photosynthetic content of C. vulgaris cells. The data obtained on the effects of neurotransmitters on the biosynthesis of photosystem components and their impact on the fatty-acid composition of С. vulgaris lipids resulting in increasing or, conversely, decreasing the monounsaturated fatty acid and saturated fatty acid percentages attest to the prolongation or shortening, respectively, of the early development stages of the microalga’s culture. The data are of considerable interest with respect to the interaction of C. vulgaris forming a part of the phytoplankton, with various neurotransmitter-producing aquatic organisms including the zooplankton, the fishes, and the higher plants as well as with human-produced neurotransmitter-containing industrial and municipal wastewater.
Keywords: neurotransmitters, biogenic amines, serotonin, dopamine, norepinephrine, histamine, acetylcholine, fatty acids, chlorophyll, carotenoids, Chlorella vulgaris, new-generation ecopollutants
Financing: this research was partly funded by the Development Program of the Interdisciplinary Scientific and Educational School of Lomonosov Moscow State University titled The Future of the Planet and Global Environmental Change as well as by the Shenzhen Municipal Government and Shenzhen MSU-BIT University. The fatty acid profiling was funded by the Russian Science Foundation (grant 23-74-00037).
For citation: Boyang Cao, Chivkunova O.B., Solovchenko A.E., Lobakova E.S., Oleskin A.V. Neurotransmitters as ecopollutants: impact on the fatty-acid composition and photosynthetic pigment content of Chlorella vulgaris. Russian Journal of Ecosystem Ecology. 2025;10(4). (In Russ.). Available from: https://doi.org/10.21685/2500-0578-2025-4-4