SPECTROMETRY RESPONSES OF CONSORTIUMPHOTOSYNTHETIC MICROORGANISMS TO ALUMINIUM AND LEAD IN WATERWONG LING SHING, WAN NURUL AISYAH WAN JUSOH, CHAI MEE KIN, CHENG WAN HEE1 AND ONG GHIM HOCKAbstract Pollution cause by the exposure of metals to the environment due to anthropogenic activities are serious global issues. Aluminium (Al) and lead (Pb) are two metals which are available in water resources,thus the detection for both metals is important to ensure the health of human beings. Native photosynthetic organisms which are widely available in water bodies are found sensitive to the presence of metals, therefore can be potentially used as indicators for these metals. In this research, a consortium of photosynthetic microorganisms from the environment was collected, cultured and exposed to Al (light metal) and Pb (heavy metal) for 24 hours. The changes of optical density (OD) of six markers consisted of three anti-oxidative proteins (catalase, glutathione s-transferase, and superoxide dismutase) and three photosynthetic pigments(carotenoids, chlorophyll, and phycocyanin) were measured using a spectrophotometer. The analysis showed the contents of all the markers were changed with the presence of these metals (0.1 mg/L to 10.0 mg/L). The increase of metalsâ concentration led to the decrease of catalase and superoxide dismutase. On the other hand, the increase of glutathione s-transferase, carotenoids, chlorophyll, and phycocyanin were indicated together with the increase of metalsâ concentration. The results showed the photosynthetic pigments were more sensitive than the anti-oxidative proteins towards the presence of both light and heavy metals. The spectrometry responses of all six markers in native consortium could be potentially used as bio indicators to detect the presence of Pb and Al in water bodies.
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