Chlorophyll fluorescence imaging of individual algal cells: effects of herbicide on Spirogyra distenta at different growth stages

Serious environmental degradation of aquatic ecosystems has been caused by eutrophication and by pollutants such as herbicides. Therefore, measurement of in situ algal photosynthetic activity is important for environmental monitoring. With ordinary nonimaging fluorometers, algal chlorophyll fluorescence can be measured easily, but heterogeneity within samples cannot be detected. Effects of a herbicide preparation containing 3-(3,4-dichlorophenyl)-1,1 -dimethylurea (DCMU) on photosynthetic activity at different growth stages of Spirogyra distenta were investigated by using a computer-aided microscopic imaging system for chlorophyll afluorescence. Photosystem II photochemical yield (phiPSII) images were used to diagnose photosynthetic activity of spiral filate chloroplasts in algal cells. The herbicide treatment caused a stronger decline in phiPSII values in younger than in mature algae cells. This result indicated that heterogeneity within algal samples should be considered when algae are used for environmental monitoring. Thus, measurement of chlorophyll fluorescence from young and mature chloroplasts with a microscopic imaging system makes it possible to improve the sensitivity for monitoring the environmental degradation of aquatic ecosystems.