Toxicity of the disinfectant benzalkonium chloride (C 14 ) towards cyanobacterium Microcystis results from its impact on the photosynthetic apparatus and cell metabolism

Quaternary ammonium compounds (QACs) are commonly used in a variety of consumer and commercial products, typically as a component of disinfectants. During the COVID-19 pandemic, QACs became one of the primary agents utilized to inactivate the SARS-CoV-2 virus on surfaces. However, the ecotoxicological effects of QACs upon aquatic or-ganisms have not been fully assessed. In this study, we examined the effects of a widely used QAC (benzalkonium chloride-C 14 , BAC-14) on two toxigenic Microcystis strains and one non-toxigenic freshwater Microcystis strain and carried out an analysis focused on primary, adaptive and compensatory stress responses at apical (growth and photosynthesis) and metabolic levels. This analysis revealed that the two toxic Microcystis strains were more tol-erant than the non-toxic strain, with 96 hr-EC50 values of 0.70, 0.76, and 0.38 mg/L BAC-14 for toxigenic M. aeruginosa FACHB-905, toxigenic M. aeruginosa FACHB-469, and non-toxigenic M. wesenbergii FACHB-908, respectively. The photosynthetic activities of the Microcystis, as-sessed via Fv /Fm values, were significantly suppressed under 0.4 mg/L BAC-14. Furthermore, this analysis revealed that BAC-14 altered 14, 12, and 8 metabolic pathways in M. aerugi-nosa FACHB-905, M. aeruginosa FACHB-469, and M. wesenbergii FACHB-908, respectively. It is noteworthy that BAC-14 enhanced the level of extracellular microcystin production in the toxigenic Microcystis strains , although cell growth was not significantly affected. Collectively, these data show that BAC-14 disrupted the physiological and metabolic status of Microcys-tis cells and stimulated the production and release of microcystin, which could result in damage to aquatic systems. (c) 2023 The Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences. Published by Elsevier B.V.