Protective function of nitric oxide on marine phytoplankton under abiotic stresses

As an important signaling molecule, nitric oxide (NO) plays diverse physiological functions in plants, which has gained particular attention in recent years. We investigated the roles of NO in the growth of marine phytoplankton Platymonas subcordiforms and Skeletonema costatum under abiotic stresses. The growth of these two microalgae was obviously inhibited under non-metal stress (sodium selenium, Na2SeO3), heavy metal stress (lead nitrate, Pb(NO3)2), pesticide stress (methomyl) and UV radiation stress. After the addition of different low concentrations of exogenous NO (10−10-10−8 mol L−1) twice each day during cultivation, the growth of these two microalgae was obviously promoted. Results showed that NO could relieve the oxidative stresses to protect the growth of the two microalgae. For different environmental stress, there is a different optimum NO concentration for marine phytoplankton. It is speculated that the protective effect of NO is related to its antioxidant ability.