Chrysosporum ovalisporum is synonymous with the true-branching cyanobacterium Umezakia natans (Nostocales/Aphanizomenonaceae).

True branching is a facultative characteristic only known from two cyanobacteria in the Aphanizomenonaceae, Umezakia natans and Dolichospermum brachiatum. In both cases, its expression has been associated with environmental stress, and its practical use as a diacritical feature has been previously evaluated. In this study, we undertook further evaluation of the phylogeny of Umezakia natans and its relationship to Chrysosporum ovalisporum as a previous study suggested the two were potentially congeneric. We used combined morphological, phylogenetic, and phylogenomic approaches to determine their relatedness using new strains available from a broad geographic range. Phylogenetic analysis based on 16S rRNA gene sequences showed that Australian C. ovalisporum and Japanese U. natans strains clustered together with accessions of C. ovalisporum originating from Australia, Israel, and Spain, with high p-distance similarity values (99.5%-99.9%). Additionally, differences between the two species in the 16S-23S ITS region was low (0%-2.5%). The average nucleotide identity of the U. natans and C. ovalisporum strains was also high (ANI of > 99.5 and AF > 0.9) and supported a genus-level separation from Chrysosporum bergii (83 ANI between clusters). Furthermore, in culture, strains of both species grown in vitamin-free media showed facultative true branching, a feature not previously known in C. ovalisporum. Collectively, the results support unification of C. ovalisporum and U. natans according to the principle of priority as Umezakia ovalisporum.

A Risk-Based Ecohydrological Approach to Assessing Environmental Flow Regimes.

For several decades there has been recognition that water resource development alters river flow regimes and impacts ecosystem values. Determining strategies to protect or restore flow regimes to achieve ecological outcomes is a focus of water policy and legislation in many parts of the world. However, consideration of existing environmental flow assessment approaches for application in Queensland identified deficiencies precluding their adoption. Firstly, in managing flows and using ecosystem condition as an indicator of effectiveness, many approaches ignore the fact that river ecosystems are subjected to threatening processes other than flow regime alteration. Secondly, many focus on providing flows for responses without considering how often they are necessary to sustain ecological values in the long-term. Finally, few consider requirements at spatial-scales relevant to the desired outcomes, with frequent focus on individual places rather than the regions supporting sustainability. Consequently, we developed a risk-based ecohydrological approach that identifies ecosystem values linked to desired ecological outcomes, is sensitive to flow alteration and uses indicators of broader ecosystem requirements. Monitoring and research is undertaken to quantify flow-dependencies and ecological modelling is used to quantify flow-related ecological responses over an historical flow period. The relative risk from different flow management scenarios can be evaluated at relevant spatial-scales. This overcomes the deficiencies identified above and provides a robust and useful foundation upon which to build the information needed to support water planning decisions. Application of the risk assessment approach is illustrated here by two case studies.

Carbon isotope discrimination in leaves of the broad-leaved paperbark tree, Melaleuca quinquenervia, as a tool for quantifying past tropical and subtropical rainfall.

Quantitative reconstructions of terrestrial climate are highly sought after but rare, particularly in Australia. Carbon isotope discrimination in plant leaves (Δleaf ) is an established indicator of past hydroclimate because the fractionation of carbon isotopes during photosynthesis is strongly influenced by water stress. Leaves of the evergreen tree Melaleuca quinquenervia have been recovered from the sediments of some perched lakes on North Stradbroke and Fraser Islands, south-east Queensland, eastern Australia. Here, we examine the potential for using M. quinquenervia ∆leaf as a tracer of past rainfall by analysing carbon isotope ratios (δ(13) C) of modern leaves. We firstly assess Δleaf variation at the leaf and stand scale and find no systematic pattern within leaves or between leaves due to their position on the tree. We then examine the relationships between climate and Δleaf for a 11-year time series of leaves collected in a litter tray. M. quinquenervia retains its leaves for 1-4 years; thus, cumulative average climate data are used. There is a significant relationship between annual mean ∆leaf and mean annual rainfall of the hydrological year for 1-4 years (i.e. 365-1460 days) prior to leaf fall (r(2)  = 0.64, P = 0.003, n = 11). This relationship is marginally improved by accounting for the effect of pCO2 on discrimination (r(2)  = 0.67, P = 0.002, n = 11). The correlation between rainfall and Δleaf , and the natural distribution of Melaleuca quinquenervia around wetlands of eastern Australia, Papua New Guinea and New Caledonia offers significant potential to infer past rainfall on a wide range of spatial and temporal scales.

Phylogeny and toxicology of Lyngbya wollei (Cyanobacteria, Oscillatoriales) from north-eastern Australia, with a description of Microseira gen. nov.

Three populations of the freshwater filamentous cyanobacterium Lyngbya wollei (Farlow ex Gomont) Speziale and Dyck have been putatively identified from north-eastern Australia and found to produce the potent cyanotoxin cylindrospermopsin (CYN) and its analog deoxy-cylindrospermopsin (deoxy-CYN). We investigated the phylogeny and toxicology of strains and mats isolated from two of these populations using a combination of molecular and morphological techniques. Morphologically the strains corresponded to the type description, however, the frequency of false-branching was low, and variable over time. Strains and mat samples from both sites were positive for the cyrF and cyrJ genes associated with CYN biosynthesis. Phylogenetic analysis of these genes from Australian L. wollei sequences and comparable cyanobacterial sequences revealed that the genes in L. wollei were more closely related to homologous genes in Oscillatoria sp. PCC 6506 than to homologs in Nostocalean CYN-producers. These data suggest a common evolutionary origin of CYN biosynthesis in L. wollei and Oscillatoria. In both the 16S rRNA and nifH phylogenies, the Australian L. wollei strains formed well-supported clades with United States L. wollei (= Plectonema wollei) strains. Pair-wise sequence similarities within the 16S rRNA clade containing all eleven L. wollei strains were high, ranging from 97% to 100%. This group was distantly related (<92% nucleotide similarity) to other taxa within the group previously considered under the genus Lyngbya sensu lato (C. Agardh ex Gomont). Collectively, these results suggest that this toxigenic group is evolutionarily distinct and sufficiently distant as to be considered a separate genus, which we have described as Microseira gen. nov. and hence transfer to it the type M. wollei comb. nov.

Connectivity of fish communities in a tropical floodplain river system and predicted impacts of potential new dams.

Longitudinal and lateral connectivity is important for mobile aquatic species in rivers for reproductive migrations, recruitment, gene flow and access to food resources across habitat types. Water resource developments such as dams and levees may disrupt these connections, causing river fragmentation and loss of access to highly productive habitats such as floodplain wetlands. We used sulfur stable isotopes as a tracer to estimate patterns of fish movement in an unregulated river in tropical northern Australia, taking advantage of observed spatial variation in sulfur isotope values of their food resources across the catchment. We also modelled the flow and barrier related impacts of potential dam development scenarios on fish movement. Fish with isotope values significantly different from local prey values were determined to be migrants. In the 'no dams' scenario, movement varied among fish species (0-44% migrant fish within species where n > 5) and sites (0-40% migrant fish within sites where n > 5), and immigration was higher in more connected sites. Impacts of water resource development on fish movement varied between dam scenarios, with predictions that a dam on the main channel of the Mitchell River would have the highest impact of the three individual dam scenarios. This study provides critical information on how flow-mediated connectivity supports patterns of fish community movement in an unregulated river system. The generic quantitative approach of combining tracers of fish movement with connectivity modelling provides a powerful predictive tool. While we used sulfur stable isotopes to estimate fish movement, our approach can be used with other tracers of movement such as otoliths and acoustic telemetry, making it widely applicable to guide sustainable development in other river systems.

Occupational and environmental hazard assessments for the isolation, purification and toxicity testing of cyanobacterial toxins.

Cyanobacteria can produce groups of structurally and functionally unrelated but highly potent toxins. Cyanotoxins are used in multiple research endeavours, either for direct investigation of their toxicologic properties, or as functional analogues for various biochemical and physiological processes. This paper presents occupational safety guidelines and recommendations for personnel working in field, laboratory or industrial settings to produce and use purified cyanotoxins and toxic cyanobacteria, from bulk harvesting of bloom material, mass culture of laboratory isolates, through routine extraction, isolation and purification. Oral, inhalational, dermal and parenteral routes are all potential occupational exposure pathways during the various stages of cyanotoxin production and application. Investigation of toxicologic or pharmacologic properties using in vivo models may present specific risks if radiolabelled cyanotoxins are employed, and the potential for occupational exposure via the dermal route is heightened with the use of organic solvents as vehicles. Inter- and intra-national transport of living cyanobacteria for research purposes risks establishing feral microalgal populations, so disinfection of culture equipment and destruction of cells by autoclaving, incineration and/or chlorination is recommended in order to prevent viable cyanobacteria from escaping research or production facilities.

Cyanobacterial composition of microbial mats from an Australian thermal spring: a polyphasic evaluation.

Cyanobacterial composition of microbial mats from an alkaline thermal spring issuing at 43-71 degrees C from tropical north-eastern Australia are described using a polyphasic approach. Eight genera and 10 species from three cyanobacterial orders were identified based on morphological characters. These represented taxa previously known as thermophilic from other continents. Ultrastructural analysis of the tower mats revealed two filamentous morphotypes contributed the majority of the biomass. Both types had ultrastructural characteristics of the family Pseudanabaenaceae. DNA extracts were made from sections of the tentaculiform towers and the microbial community analysed by 16S cyanobacteria-specific PCR and denaturing-gradient gel electrophoresis. Five significant bands were identified and sequenced. Two bands clustered closely with Oscillatoria amphigranulata isolated from New Zealand hot springs; one unique phylotype had only moderate similarity to a range of Leptolyngbya species; and one phylotype was closely related to a number of Geitlerinema species. Generally the approaches yielded complementary information, however the results suggest that species designation based on morphological and ultrastructural criteria alone often fails to recognize their true phylogenetic position. Conversely some molecular techniques may fail to detect rare taxa suggesting that the widest possible suite of techniques be applied when conducting analyses of cyanobacterial diversity of natural populations. This is the first polyphasic evaluation of thermophilic cyanobacterial communities from the Australian continent.

Cryptic diversity within the Scytonema complex: Characterization of the paralytic shellfish toxin producer Heterosyctonema crispum, and the establishment of the family Heteroscytonemataceae (Cyanobacteria/Nostocales).

Strains of the freshwater filamentous, benthic cyanobacterium Scytonema crispum Agardh isolated from six sites in subtropical south-east Queensland were characterised using a combination of phenotypic and genetic traits. Morphologically, the strains were consistent with the description of Scytonemataceae sensu stricto, and the description of Scytonema crispum. However, phylogenetic analysis of the 16S rRNA gene, the 16S-23S rRNA operon, and the nifH gene revealed that these strains and three others from outside Australia formed a monophyletic clade distinct from Scytonema and other species in the Scytonemataceae. Collectively, this data suggests this group is sufficiently evolutionarily distinct to be placed in a new family, Heteroscytonemataceae fam. nov. Accordingly, the taxon previously known as S. crispum has been transferred to a new genus Heteroscytonema gen nov., as H. crispum. Some strains of H. crispum exhibited facultative production of paralytic shellfish toxins (PSTs). The concentration of PSTs produced by individual strains varied widely, from 2.7 µg g-1 to 171.3 µg g-1, and included C toxins, decarbamoyl saxitoxin (dcSTX), gonyautoxins (GTX2, GTX3 and GTX5), saxitoxin (STX) and uncharacterised PSTs. The majority of the Australian strains produced dcSTX as the dominant saxitoxin analogue, a significant finding given that dcSTX has approximately half the relative toxicity of STX. The PST profile varied within and between Australian strains of H. crispum and in strains collected from New Zealand and the United States. The sxtA gene, one of the determinants for the production of PSTs, was present in all strains in which PSTs were detected. The discovery of PST-producing H. crispum in the headwaters of a major drinking water reservoir presents a serious risk for potential human and animal exposure to these neurotoxic compounds and further highlights the importance of monitoring benthic cyanobacteria populations for potentially toxigenic species.

Iningainema pulvinus gen nov., sp nov. (Cyanobacteria, Scytonemataceae) a new nodularin producer from Edgbaston Reserve, north-eastern Australia.

A new nodularin producing benthic cyanobacterium Iningainema pulvinus gen nov., sp nov. was isolated from a freshwater ambient spring wetland in tropical, north-eastern Australia and characterised using combined morphological and phylogenetic attributes. It formed conspicuous irregularly spherical to discoid, blue-green to olive-green cyanobacterial colonies across the substratum of shallow pools. Morphologically Iningainema is most similar to Scytonematopsis Kiseleva and Scytonema Agardh ex Bornet & Flahault. All three genera have isopolar filaments enveloped by a firm, often layered and coloured sheath; false branching is typically geminate, less commonly singly. Phylogenetic analyses using partial 16S rRNA sequences of three clones of Iningainema pulvinus strain ES0614 showed that it formed a well-supported monophyletic clade. All three clones were 99.7-99.9% similar, however they shared less than 93.9% nucleotide similarity with other cyanobacterial sequences including putatively related taxa within the Scytonemataceae. Amplification of a fragment of the ndaF gene involved in nodularin biosynthesis from Iningainema pulvinus confirmed that it has this genetic determinant. Consistent with these results, analysis of two extracts from strain ES0614 by HPLC-MS/MS confirmed the presence of nodularin at concentrations of 796 and 1096µgg-1 dry weight. This is the third genus of cyanobacteria shown to produce the cyanotoxin nodularin and the first report of nodularin synthesis from the cyanobacterial family Scytonemataceae. These new findings may have implications for the aquatic biota at Edgbaston Reserve, a spring complex which has been identified as a priority conservation area in the central Australian arid and semiarid zones, based on patterns of endemicity.

Polyphasic identification of cyanobacterial isolates from Australia.

Reliable identification of cyanobacterial isolates has significant socio-economic implications as many bloom-forming species affect the aesthetics and safety of drinking water, through the production of taste and odour compounds or toxic metabolites. The limitations of morphological identification have promoted the application of molecular tools, and encouraged the adoption of combined (polyphasic) approaches that include both microscopy- and DNA-based analyses. In this context, the rapid expansion of available sequence data is expected to allow increasingly reliable identification of cyanobacteria, and ultimately resolve current discrepancies between the two approaches. In the present study morphological and molecular characterisations of cyanobacterial isolates (n = 39), collected from various freshwater sites in Australia, were compared. Sequences were obtained for the small ribosomal subunit RNA gene (16S rDNA) (n = 36), the DNA-dependent RNA polymerase gene (rpoC1) (n = 22), and the phycocyanin operon, with its intergenic spacer region (cpcBA-IGS) (n = 19). Phylogenetic analyses identified three cyanobacterial orders: the Chroococcales (n = 8), Oscillatoriales (n = 6), and Nostocales (n = 25). Interestingly, multiple novel genotypes were identified, with 22% of the strains (17/77) having <95% similarity to available sequences in GenBank. Morphological and molecular data were in agreement at the species level for only 26% of the isolates obtained (10/39), while agreement at the genus level was obtained for 31% (12/39). Confident identification of the remaining 44% of the strains (17/39) beyond the order level was not possible. The present study demonstrates that, despite the taxonomic revisions, and advances in molecular-, and bioinformatics-tools, the lack of reliable morphological features, culture-induced pleomorphism, and proportion of misidentified or poorly described sequences in GenBank, still represent significant factors, impeding the confident identification of cyanobacteria species.

First report of a toxic Nodularia spumigena (Nostocales/ Cyanobacteria) bloom in sub-tropical Australia. I. Phycological and public health investigations.

Cyanobacterial blooms represent one of the most conspicuous and widespread waterborne microbial hazards to human and ecosystem health. Investigation of a cyanobacterial bloom in a shallow brackish water recreational cable ski lake in south-eastern Queensland, Australia revealed the dominance of the toxigenic species Nodularia spumigena. The bloom spanned three months, during which time cell concentrations exceeded human guideline thresholds for recreational risk, and concentrations of the hepatotoxic cyanotoxin nodularin exceeded 200 µg L(-1). Cyanotoxin origin and identification was confirmed by amplification of the ndaF-specific PCR product and sequencing of the 16S rRNA gene. From the limited data available leading up to, and throughout the bloom, it was not possible to establish the set of causative factors responsible for its occurrence. However a combination of factors including salinity, hydraulic retention time and nutrient status associated with an extended period of drought are likely to have contributed. This was the first known occurrence of this species in bloom proportions from sub-tropical Australia and as such represents a hitherto uncharacterized risk to human and ecosystem health. It highlights the need for adaptive monitoring regimes to ensure a comprehensive understanding of the potentially toxic cyanobacteria likely to inhabit any given region. Such monitoring needs to recognize that cyanobacteria have a significant capacity for range expansion that has been facilitated by recent changes in global climate.

First report of a toxic Nodularia spumigena (Nostocales/ Cyanobacteria) bloom in sub-tropical Australia. II. Bioaccumulation of nodularin in isolated populations of mullet (Mugilidae).

Fish collected after a mass mortality at an artificial lake in south-east Queensland, Australia, were examined for the presence of nodularin as the lake had earlier been affected by a Nodularia bloom. Methanol extracts of muscle, liver, peritoneal and stomach contents were analysed by HPLC and tandem mass spectrometry; histological examination was conducted on livers from captured mullet. Livers of sea mullet (Mugil cephalus) involved in the fish kill contained high concentrations of nodularin (median 43.6 mg/kg, range 40.8-47.8 mg/kg dry weight; n = 3) and the toxin was also present in muscle tissue (median 44.0 µg/kg, range 32.3-56.8 µg/kg dry weight). Livers of fish occupying higher trophic levels accumulated much lower concentrations. Mullet captured from the lake 10 months later were also found to have high hepatic nodularin levels. DNA sequencing of mullet specimens revealed two species inhabiting the study lake: M. cephalus and an unidentified mugilid. The two mullet species appear to differ in their exposure and/or uptake of nodularin, with M. cephalus demonstrating higher tissue concentrations. The feeding ecology of mullet would appear to explain the unusual capacity of these fish to concentrate nodularin in their livers; these findings may have public health implications for mullet fisheries and aquaculture production where toxic cyanobacteria blooms affect source waters. This report incorporates a systematic review of the literature on nodularin measured in edible fish, shellfish and crustaceans.

Identification of a benthic microcystin-producing filamentous cyanobacterium (Oscillatoriales) associated with a dog poisoning in New Zealand.

In November 2008 a dog died soon after ingesting benthic "algal" mat material from the Waitaki River, New Zealand. Based on a morphological examination of environmental material, the causative organism was putatively identified as the filamentous cyanobacterium Phormidium sp. Two strains (VUW25 and CYN61) were isolated and cultured to enable further taxonomic and cyanotoxin characterisation. Phylogenetic analyses based on a region of the 16S rRNA gene sequence, intergenic spacer (ITS) region and the mcyE gene demonstrated that the species was likely to be a new Planktothrix species that is either benthic or has a biphasic life cycle. Using liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS), microcystin-LR, [D-Asp(3), Dha(7)] microcystin-LR, [D-Asp(3)] microcystin-LR, and minor proportions of [D-Asp(3), ADMAdda(5)] microcystin-LhR were identified. This is the first report of [D-Asp(3)] microcystin-LR, [D-Asp(3), Dha(7)] microcystin-LR and an ADMAadda variant in New Zealand. No cylindrospermopsins, saxitoxins or anatoxins were detected. Dog deaths caused by the consumption of cyanobacterial mats containing anatoxins have previously been reported in New Zealand. To our knowledge, however, this is the first instance of a benthic microcystin-producing species causing an animal death in New Zealand.