Morphological and Physiological Responses of Lemna minor to Aniline

The ecotoxicological effects of aniline on Lemna minor have been evaluated based on both morphological and physiological responses in this paper. The results showed a significant inhibition to frond number and area, growth index, and biomass of L. minor. The contents of both chlorophyll a and b went down significantly after exposure to aniline. Aniline shows an acute toxic effect on the vegetative growth of L. minor and the effect is correlated with its concentration. Aniline might impact the growth of L. minor through destroying its photosynthesis. The activities of CAT, POD and SOD shown different responses to aniline at different times, but higher concentration of aniline and persistence would be more harmful to L. minor according to the changes of the activities of antioxidant enzymes. L. minor could be used as an indicator to monitor the existence of aniline in water bodies.