Study on the Effect of Exogenous Salicylic Acid on Algae Growth in the Environment

Abstract

With the development of industry, synthetic drugs and their secondary metabolites bring some hidden dangers to environmental safety. As an excellent drug, salicylic acid is widely used in cardiovascular drugs, industrial dyes, skin care and acne products, etc. Therefore, it is possible to detect salicylic acid molecules, its derivatives or secondary metabolites in the natural environment. It should be noted that salicylic acid, as an endogenous signal molecule, can greatly affect plant growth. In this study, the common algal Spirogyra in fresh water was taken as the research object. The effects of exogenous salicylic acid on the growth of Spirogyra were analyzed through the changes of chlorophyll content and plant cross section during the growth of Spirogyra. It is found that the concentration of salicylic acid in the natural environment generally promotes the development of algae and improves their resistance to environmental stress. Therefore, as a possible correlation index of algal blooms, it deserves our attention.