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| The accumulation and biotransformation of selenium (Se) in seaweed Gracilaria lemaneiformis, collected from Nan-ao Island, Shantou, China were investigated in the present study. The seaweed was cultured for 12 days in medium containing 0-2000 mg/L of selenite, and the results showed that, under the concentrations lower than 750 mg/L, Se promoted the growth of seaweed, and increased the contents of chlorophyll α, carotenoids, and phycobiliprotein. When the concentrations of Se was higher than 1000 mg/L, the photosynthetic pigments in the seaweed were significantly lower than that of control, while the maximum photochemical efficiency (Fv/Fm) was also decreased. The accumulation of Se in the biomass was linearly correlated to the dose of Se added into the media. Moreover, the organic rate of Se in seaweed was over 80% in all the groups. Furthermore, Se enrichment induced overproduction of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and membrane lipid peroxidation (LPO) in the seaweed cells, as accompanied by decrease in the activities of antioxidant enzymes, such as catalase (CAT), glutathione peroxidase (GPx) and superoxide dismutase (SOD). Taken together, these results suggest that G. lemaneiformis possesses tolerance to Se and could prevent phytotoxicity by altering various metabolic processes. In addition, G. lemaneiformis exhibits great potential to transform inorganic Se into organic Se and therefore could be a sound candidate for the production of Se-enriched functional food. |
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| Keywords:Gracilaria lemaneiformis; Selenium; Biotransfromation |
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