UNIVERSITY OF LAGOS
FACULTY OF SCIENCE
CELL BIOLOGY AND GENETICS
ENVIRONMENTAL BIOLOGY UNIT
NAME : OKE, FISAYO AYOMIKUN
MATRIC NUMBER : 199072030
COURSE CODE CBG816
COURSE TITLE: POLLUTION BIOLOGY
TOPIC : CONTRIBUTION OF ENZYMES
TO PHYCOREMEDIATION
LECTURER: DR. K. L. NJOKU
OUTLINE
Enzymes
Properties of enzymes
Factors that regulate activities of enzymes
Phycoremediation
Determining factors of algae metabolism
Phycoremediation and bioremediation
Enzymes in phycoremediation
Conclusion
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ENZYMES
• Enzymes are biological catalysts
• Increase rate of reaction
• They lower activation energy
• Bind with specific substrates
• Catalyze virtually all biochemical reactions
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ENZYMES CONTD.
Figure 1: Mechanism of enzyme action.
Source:<https://www.genome.gov/genetics-glossary/Enzyme> 4
PROPERTIES OF ENZYMES
Enzymes are proteins
They are very specific
Sensitive to temperature and pH
They remain unchanged at the end of reaction
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FACTORS THAT REGULATE ACTIVITIES
OF ENZYMES
Temperature
pH
Concentration of enzymes and substrate
Cofactors
Inhibitors
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PHYCOREMEDIATION
Phycoremediation – waste treatment using algae
Algae are eukaryotic plant-like organisms
They lack true roots, leaves and stems
They include macroalgae and microalgae (seaweeds)
High tolerance to environmental stress
Widely distributed across various ecosystems
Predominantly aquatic and phototropic
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PHYCOREMEDIATION CONTD.
Algae derive energy by photosynthesis and by uptake of
organic carbon from habitat
Sequester CO2 (green house gas) from atmosphere
Degrade organic wastes (liquid and solid) rapidly
Absorb inorganic nutrients from substrates
Metabolize nutrients rapidly for growth and reproduction
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PHYCOREMEDIATION CONTD.
Phycoremediation is therefore the process by which algae
restore environmental quality by removing toxic materials
of all forms of matter (solid, liquid and gas) from their
inhabiting ecosystems.
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PHYCOREMEDIATION CONTD.
Figure 1: Picture of freshwater algae
Source: Draham et al. (2009) 10
PHYCOREMEDIATION CONTD.
Figure 1: An overview of phycoremediation process
Source: Leong et al. (2021). 11
FACTORS THAT AFFECT
PHYCOREMEDIATION
Available nutrient
Sufficiency of CO2
Light quality
Temperature
Salinity
pH
Presence of xenobiotic
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PHYCOREMEDIATION AND BIOREMEDIATION
Table 1: Comparison between phycoremediation and bioremediation
(microbial especially).
Basis of difference Phycoremediation Bioremediation
Types of pollutants All forms of matter Solid and liquid
Energy consumption Very minimal High
Sensitivity to pH Wide range of pH Narrow range
Biofuel production Very suitable Nill
Cost of construction and Relatively less More
maintenance
Labour required Relatively less More
Source: Rao and Sivasubramanian (2016). 13
ENZYMES IN PHYCOREMEDIATION
Environmental factors (toxins/wastes) determine type
and quantity of enzyme that is produced
Type of enzyme determine what metabolic pathway
(phycoremedial response)
In other words, enzymes play a central role in
phycoremediation.
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ENZYMES IN PHYCOREMEDIATION
Environmental factors Enzymes Metabolic pathway
(toxins/wastes) (phycoremedial response)
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ENZYMES IN PHYCOREMEDIATION CONTD.
Table 2: Enzymes in phycoremediation
SN Factors Algae Enzymes Sources
1 Low CO2 Chlamydomon 1,5 biophosphate Kuchitsu et al.
concentration as reihadtii carboxylase/oxyge (1991)
nae
2 Low sulphur Clorophytes Iron-hydrogenase Winkler et al.
in anoxic (2002)
condition
3 Metflurazon Chlorella cytochrome P450 Thieset al.,
monooxygenase 1996
4 Atrazine Scenedesmus glutathione S Geoffroyet al.,
transferase 2002
5 Heavy metals Microalgae ascorbate Arunakumara
peroxidase and Xuecheng,
2008) 16
CONCLUSION
Despite available evidences that enzymes play a central role in
phycoremediation, this concept is still wanting of further
research. The detail about pathways/mechanisms of action of
algae enzymes remains unclear. It is therefore recommended
that further studies are carried out in respect to the contribution
of enzymes to phycoremediation.
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