Impact of Physiological Stresses on Nitric Oxide Formation by Green Alga, Scenedesmus obliquus

The rate of apparent nitric oxide (NO) release, as measured in the exhaust gas of green alga, Scenedesmus obliquus, depended on the light intensity and pH. It doubled after lowering the temperature from $25^{\circ}C{\;}to{\;}15^{\circ}C$ and strongly decreased from $35^{\circ}C{\;}to{\;}42^{\circ}C$. The Scenedesmus cells, deficient in nitrogen or phosphorus, demonstrated a significant increase in NO production following their transfer to nitrate- and phosphate-rich media. The addition of herbicides (DCMU and glyphosate) or toxic concentrations of $Cu^{2+}{\;}or{\;}Fe^{3+}$ produced strong NO peaks, resembling those that occurred after sudden darkening. An increase in the $Ni^{2+}$ concentration to 20 ppm resulted in a gradual increase of NO release from the initial ~1.5 ppbv to>20 ppbv, whereas $Cd^{2+}$ instantaneously suppressed the NO by the cultures of Scenedesmus was not altered by L-NNA, an inhibitor of nitric oxide synthase (NOS), or by its substrate, L-arginine. This seems to exclude the role of NOS in the NO formation under study. Accordingly, it can be assumed that the rate of NO formation is mainly a function of dynamic nitrite pool sizes and environmental factors significantly affect the NO production in algae.