Microalgae-based wastewater treatment:Mechanisms,challenges,recent advances,and future prospects

The rapid expansion of both the global economy and the human population has led to a shortage of water resources suitable for direct human consumption.As a result,water remediation will inexorably become the primary focus on a global scale.Microalgae can be grown in various types of wastewaters(WW).They have a high potential to remove contaminants from the effluents of industries and urban areas.This review focuses on recent advances on WW remediation through microalgae cultivation.Attention has already been paid to microalgae-based wastewater treatment(WWT)due to its low energy requirements,the strong ability of microalgae to thrive under diverse environmental conditions,and the potential to transform WW nutrients into high-value compounds.It turned out that microalgae-based WWT is an economical and sustainable solution.Moreover,different types of toxins are removed by microalgae through biosorption,bioaccumulation,and biodegradation processes.Examples are toxins from agricultural runoffs and textile and pharmaceutical industrial effluents.Microalgae have the potential to mitigate carbon dioxide and make use of the micronutrients that are present in the effluents.This review paper highlights the application of microalgae in WW remediation and the remediation of diverse types of pollutants commonly present in WW through different mechanisms,simultaneous resource recovery,and efficient microalgae-based co-culturing systems along with bottlenecks and prospects.

Hormonal control of seasonal color change in female spiny-footed lizards:an observational and experimental approach

Breeding coloration of females often signals aspects of their reproductive status,suggesting a link between color and sex steroid hormones.In this study,we examined the relationships between 2 sex steroid hormones(progesterone and p-estradiol)and reproductive coloration in female spinyfooted lizards Acanthodactylus erythrurus.We first explored natural variation in female plasma hormone levels and coloration during their reproductive cycle,p-estradiol was negatively related to brightness and positively related to red saturation,whereas progesterone was not significantly related to coloration.After identifying key relationships,plasma hormone concentrations were manipulated by creating 3 experimental female groups(p-estradiol-treated,progesterone-treated,and control),and the effects on coloration were monitored,p-estradiol-treated females,in which there was a rise in both p-estradiol and progesterone levels,lost their red coloration earlier than females in the other 2 experimental groups,whereas progesterone treatment had no significant effect on female coloration.Our results suggest that high levels of either p-estradiol alone or(3-estradiol together with progesterone trigger the loss of red coloration in female spiny-footed lizards,and that progesterone alone does not affect coloration.We hypothesize that changes in female breeding color might be regulated by(3-estradiol in species in which conspicuous coloration is displayed before ovulation,and by progesterone in species in which this color is displayed during gravidity.