Chlorophyll f production in two new subaerial cyanobacteria of the family Oculatellaceae.

Chlorophyll (Chl) f was recently identified in a few cyanobacteria as the fifth chlorophyll of oxygenic organisms. In this study, two Leptolyngbya-like strains of CCNU0012 and CCNU0013 were isolated from a dry ditch in Chongqing city and a brick wall in Mount Emei Scenic Area in China, respectively. These two strains were described as new species: Elainella chongqingensis sp. nov. (Oculatellaceae, Synechococcales) and Pegethrix sichuanica sp. nov. (Oculatellaceae, Synechococcales) by the polyphasic approach based on morphological features, phylogenetic analysis of 16S rRNA gene and secondary structure comparison of 16S-23S internal transcribed spacer domains. Both strains produced Chl a under white light (WL) but additionally induced Chl f synthesis under far-red light (FRL). Unexpectedly, the content of Chl f in P. sichuanica was nearly half that in most Chl f-producing cyanobacteria. Red-shifted phycobiliproteins were also induced in both strains under FRL conditions. Subsequently, additional absorption peak beyond 700 nm in the FRL spectral region appeared in these two strains. This is the first report of Chl f production induced by FRL in the family Oculatellaceae. This study not only extended the diversity of Chl f-producing cyanobacteria but also provided precious samples to elucidate the essential binding sites of Chl f within cyanobacterial photosystems.

Occurrence of Mycosporine-like Amino Acids (MAAs) from the Bloom-Forming Cyanobacteria Aphanizomenon Strains.

Mycosporine-like amino acids (MAAs) are widespread in various microbes and protect them against harsh environments. Here, four different Aphanizomenon species were isolated from severely eutrophic waterbodies, Lake Dianchi and the Guanqiao fishpond. Morphological characters and molecular phylogenetic analysis verified that the CHAB5919, 5921, and 5926 strains belonged to the Aphanizomenon flos-aquae clade while Guanqiao01 belonged to the Aphanizomenon gracile clade. Full wavelength scanning proved that there was obvious maximal absorption at 334 nm through purified methanol extraction, and these substances were further analyzed by HPLC and UPLC-MS-MS. The results showed that two kinds of MAAs were discovered in the cultured Aphanizomenon strains. One molecular weight was 333.28 and the other was 347.25, and the daughter fragment patterns were in accordance with the previously articles reported shinorine and porphyra-334 ion characters. The concentration of the MAAs was calibrated from semi-prepared MAAs standards from dry cells of Microcystis aeruginosa PCC7806 algal powder, and the purity of shinorine and porphyra-334 were 90.2% and 85.4%, respectively. The average concentrations of shinorine and porphyra-334 were 0.307−0.385 µg/mg and 0.111−0.136 µg/mg in Aphanizomenon flos-aquae species, respectively. And there was only one kind of MAAs (shinorine) in Aphanizomenon gracile species.,with a content of 0.003−0.049 µg/mg dry weight among all Aphanizomenon gracile strains. The shinorine concentration in Aphanizomenon flos-aquae was higher than that in Aphanizomenon gracile strains. The total MAAs production can be ranked as Aphanizomenon flos-aquae > Aphanizomenon gracile.

Application and recent progress of inland water monitoring using remote sensing techniques.

Hyperspectral remote sensing, which retrieves the water quality parameters by direct high-resolution analysis of the electromagnetic spectrum reflected from the water surface, has been widely applied for inland water quality detection. Such a new approach provides an opportunity to generate real-time data from water with the noncontact method, largely improving working efficiency. By summarizing the development and current applications of hyperspectral remote sensing, we compare the relative merits of varying remote sensing platforms, popular inversion models, and the application of hyperspectral monitoring of chlorophyll-a (Chl-a), transparency, total suspended solids (TSS), colored dissolved organic matter (CDOM), phycocyanin (PC), total phosphorus (TP), and total nitrogen (TN) water quality parameters. Most studies have focused on spaceborne remote sensing, which is usually used to monitor large waterbodies for Chl-a and other water quality parameters with optical properties; semiempirical, bio-optical, and semianalytical models are frequently used. With the rapid development of aerospace technology and near-surface remote sensing, the spectral resolution of remote sensing imaging technology has been dramatically improved and has begun to be applied to small waterbodies. In the future, the multiplatform linkage monitoring approach may become a new research direction. Advanced computer technology has also enabled machine learning models to be applied to water quality parameter inversion, and machine learning models have higher robustness than the three commonly used models mentioned above. Although nitrogen and phosphorus, with nonoptical properties, have also received attention and research from some scholars in recent years, the uncertainty of their mechanisms makes it necessary to maintain a cautious attitude when treating such research.

Phylogenetic insights into chroococcus-like taxa (Chroococcales, Cyanobacteria), describing Cryptochroococcus tibeticus gen. nov. sp. nov. and Limnococcus fonticola sp. nov. from Qinghai-Tibet plateau.

Several coccoid cyanobacterial strains, morphologically similar to typical characteristics of Chroococcus, from the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau were isolated and characterized using a polyphasic approach including morphological and molecular information. Morphological characteristics, the phylogeny based on 16S rRNA gene, and 16S-23S internal transcribed spacer secondary structures support establishing a novel Chroococcus-like genus, Cryptochroococcus gen. nov., as well as Limnococcus fonticola sp. nov. Limnococcus is phylogenetically included in Chroococcaceae and has irregularly arranged thylakoids. Therefore, it should no longer be a member of Merismopediaceae (Synechococcales). The phylogeny based on the 16S rRNA gene revealed that Chroococcus-associated genera were monophyletic.

Multifunctionality of biocrusts is positively predicted by network topologies consistent with interspecies facilitation.

The potential of biodiversity loss to impair the delivery of ecosystem services has motived ecologists to better understand the relationship between biodiversity and ecosystem functioning. Although increasing evidence underlines the collective contribution of different biodiversity components on the simultaneous performance of multiple functions (multifunctionality), we know little about the trade-offs between individual diversity effects and the extent to which they determine multifunctionality differentially. Here, at a subcontinental scale of 62 dryland sites, we show in phototrophic microbiota of biological soil crusts (biocrusts) that, whereas richness alone is unable to guarantee the maxima of multifunctional performance, interspecies facilitation and compositional identity are particularly stronger but often neglected predictors. The inconsistent effects of different biodiversity components imply that soil multifunctionality can be lost despite certain species remaining present. Moreover, we reveal a significant empirical association between species functional importance and its topological feature in co-occurrence networks, indicating a functional signal of species interaction. Nevertheless, abundant species tend to isolate and merely interact within small topological structures, but rare species were tightly connected in complicated network modules. Our findings suggest that abundant and rare species of soil phototrophs exhibit distinct functional relevance. These results give a comprehensive view of how soil constructive species drive multifunctionality in biocrusts and ultimately promote a deeper understanding of the consequences of biodiversity loss in real-world ecosystems.

Key rules of life and the fading cryosphere: Impacts in alpine lakes and streams.

Alpine regions are changing rapidly due to loss of snow and ice in response to ongoing climate change. While studies have documented ecological responses in alpine lakes and streams to these changes, our ability to predict such outcomes is limited. We propose that the application of fundamental rules of life can help develop necessary predictive frameworks. We focus on four key rules of life and their interactions: the temperature dependence of biotic processes from enzymes to evolution; the wavelength dependence of the effects of solar radiation on biological and ecological processes; the ramifications of the non-arbitrary elemental stoichiometry of life; and maximization of limiting resource use efficiency across scales. As the cryosphere melts and thaws, alpine lakes and streams will experience major changes in temperature regimes, absolute and relative inputs of solar radiation in ultraviolet and photosynthetically active radiation, and relative supplies of resources (e.g., carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus), leading to nonlinear and interactive effects on particular biota, as well as on community and ecosystem properties. We propose that applying these key rules of life to cryosphere-influenced ecosystems will reduce uncertainties about the impacts of global change and help develop an integrated global view of rapidly changing alpine environments. However, doing so will require intensive interdisciplinary collaboration and international cooperation. More broadly, the alpine cryosphere is an example of a system where improving our understanding of mechanistic underpinnings of living systems might transform our ability to predict and mitigate the impacts of ongoing global change across the daunting scope of diversity in Earth's biota and environments.

Genotypes of ITS region of rRNA in Microcystis (Cyanobacteria) populations in Erhai Lake (China) and their correlation with eutrophication level.

Previous studies on spatiotemporal changes of Microcystis genotypes have shown that the existence and succession of dominant genotypes always occur in eutrophicated freshwater bodies. However, few studies have focused on the correlation between genotype composition and eutrophication level. In the present study, clone libraries of the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) of rrn operon were sequenced from Microcystis populations in Erhai Lake, a subtropical plateau lake in the preliminary eutrophication stage. The genotype composition of the Microcystis populations was highly variable at spatiotemporal scales, and 473 ITS genotypes were identified from the 800 ITS sequences obtained. However, no significantly dominant ITS genotypes existed in the lake. Comparison of Erhai Lake with four major lakes in China, namely, Taihu, Chaohu, Gucheng, and Shijiu Lakes, showed that the Microcystis ITS genotypes and genetic diversity were negatively correlated with eutrophication level. Extensive comparison of the Microcystis ITS genotypes from waters worldwide revealed that 440 ITS genotypes were unique to Erhai Lake, and no obvious phylogenetic correlations can be detected among the dominant genotypes from different water bodies. The high genetic diversity of the Microcystis populations in Erhai Lake may have resulted from the effect of the early stage of eutrophication.

Sporadic distribution and distinctive variations of cylindrospermopsin genes in cyanobacterial strains and environmental samples from Chinese freshwater bodies.

Increasing reports of cylindrospermopsins (CYNs) in freshwater ecosystems have promoted the demand for identifying all of the potential CYN-producing cyanobacterial species. The present study explored the phylogenetic distribution and evolution of cyr genes in cyanobacterial strains and water samples from China. Four Cylindrospermopsis strains and two Raphidiopsis strains were confirmed to produce CYNs. Mutant cyrI and cyrK genes were observed in these strains. Cloned cyr gene sequences from eight water bodies were clustered with cyr genes from Cylindrospermopsis and Raphidiopsis (C/R group) in the phylogenetic trees with high similarities (99%). Four cyrI sequence types and three cyrJ sequence types were observed to have different sequence insertions and repeats. Phylogenetic analysis of the rpoC1 sequences of the C/R group revealed four conserved clades, namely, clade I, clade II, clade III, and clade V. High sequence similarities (>97%) in each clade and a divergent clade IV were observed. Therefore, CYN producers were sporadically distributed in congeneric and paraphyletic C/R group species in Chinese freshwater ecosystems. In the evolution of cyr genes, intragenomic translocations and intergenomic transfer between local Cylindrospermopsis and Raphidiopsis were emphasized and probably mediated by transposases. This research confirms the existence of CYN-producing Cylindrospermopsis in China and reveals the distinctive variations of cyr genes.

First report of PST-producing Microseira wollei from China reveals its novel toxin profile.

Microseira wollei, a globally distributed freshwater bloom-forming benthic cyanobacterium, is known for its production of cyanotoxins and taste and odor (T&O). While CYN (Cylindrospermopsin)-producing populations of M. wollei are confined to Australia, PST (Paralytic shellfish toxins)-producing populations have been exclusively documented in North America. In this study, four benthic cyanobacterial strains, isolated from West Lake in China, were identified as M. wollei based on morphological and phylogenetic analyses. Detection of sxtA gene and UPLC-MS/MS analysis conclusively confirmed the PST-producing capability of M. wollei CHAB5998. In the phylogenetic tree of 16S rDNA, M. wollei strains formed a monophyletic group with two subclades. Notably, non-PST-producing Chinese strains clustered with Australian strains in Clade II, while all other strains, including PST-producing ones, clustered in Clade I. Additionally, CHAB5998 contains ten PST variants, of which STX, NEO, GTX2, GTX3, GTX5 and C1 were identified for the first time in M. wollei. Sequence analysis of PST biosynthetic gene cluster (sxt) genes indicated potential base variations, gene rearrangements, insertions, and deletions in the strain CHAB5998. Also, sxt gene has a longer evolutionary history in M. wollei than that in cyanobacteria from Nostocales. Multiple recombination breakpoints detected in sxt genes and the inconsistency in the topology of the phylogenetic trees between sxt and 16S rDNA suggested that multiple horizontal gene transfers (HGT) have occurred. Overall, the present study marks the first documented occurrence of PST-producing M. wollei outside of North America and identifies it as the first toxic freshwater benthic cyanobacterium in China. This revelation implies that benthic cyanobacteria may pose a higher environmental risk in China than previously acknowledged.

Comparative toxicology of algal cell extracts and pure cyanotoxins: insights into toxic effects and mechanisms of harmful cyanobacteria Raphidiopsis raciborskii.

Ongoing research on cyanotoxins, driven by the socioeconomic impact of harmful algal blooms, emphasizes the critical necessity of elucidating the toxicological profiles of algal cell extracts and pure toxins. This study comprehensively compares Raphidiopsis raciborskii dissolved extract (RDE) and cylindrospermopsin (CYN) based on Daphnia magna assays. Both RDE and CYN target vital organs and disrupt reproduction, development, and digestion, thereby causing acute and chronic toxicity. Disturbances in locomotion, reduced behavioral activity, and weakened swimming capability in D. magna have also been reported for both RDE and CYN, indicating the insufficiency of conventional toxicity evaluation parameters for distinguishing between the toxic effects of algal extracts and pure cyanotoxins. Additionally, chemical profiling revealed the presence of highly active tryptophan-, humic acid-, and fulvic acid-like fluorescence compounds in the RDE, along with the active constituents of CYN, within a 15-day period, demonstrating the chemical complexity and dynamics of the RDE. Transcriptomics was used to further elucidate the distinct molecular mechanisms of RDE and CYN. They act diversely in terms of cytotoxicity, involving oxidative stress and response, protein content, and energy metabolism, and demonstrate distinct modes of action in neurofunctions. In essence, this study underscores the distinct toxicity mechanisms of RDE and CYN and emphasizes the necessity for context- and objective-specific toxicity assessments, advocating nuanced approaches to evaluate the ecological and health implications of cyanotoxins, thereby contributing to the precision of environmental risk assessments.

Combined methods elucidate the multi-organ toxicity of cylindrospermopsin (CYN) on Daphnia magna.

Global water bodies are now at risk from inevitable cyanobacterial blooms and their production of multiple cyanotoxins, in particular cylindrospermopsin (CYN). However, research on the CYN toxicity and its molecular mechanisms is still limited, whilst the responses of aquatic species against CYN are uncovered. By integrating behavioral observations, chemical detections and transcriptome analysis, this study demonstrated that CYN exerted multi-organ toxicity to model species, Daphnia magna. The present study confirmed that CYN could cause protein inhibition by undermining total protein contents, and altered the gene expression related to proteolysis. Meantime, CYN induced oxidative stress by increasing reactive oxygen species (ROS) level, decreasing the glutathione (GSH) concentration, and interfered with protoheme formation process molecularly. Neurotoxicity led by CYN was solidly determined by abnormal swimming patterns, reduced acetylcholinesterase (AChE), and downward expression of muscarinic acetylcholine receptor (CHRM). Importantly, for the first time, this research determined CYN directly interfered with energy metabolism in cladocerans. CYN distinctively reduced filtration and ingestion rate by targeting on heart and thoracic limbs, which declined the energy intake, and could be further displayed by the reduction of motional strength and the trypsin concentration. These phenotypic alterations were supported by transcriptomic profile, including the down-regulation of oxidative phosphorylation and ATP synthesis. Moreover, CYN was speculated to trigger the self-defense responses of D. magna, known as "abandon-ship" by moderating lipid metabolism and distribution. This study, overall, comprehensively demonstrated the CYN toxicity and the responses of D. magna against it, which is of great significance to the advancements of CYN toxicity knowledge.

Molecular basis and phylogenetic implications of deoxycylindrospermopsin biosynthesis in the cyanobacterium Raphidiopsis curvata.

New insights into the distribution and biochemistry of the cyanotoxin cylindrospermopsin (CYN) have been provided by the recent determination of its biosynthesis gene cluster (cyr) in several cyanobacterial species. Raphidiopsis curvata CHAB1150 isolated from China was analyzed for CYN analogues. Only 7-deoxy-CYN was detected in the cell extracts. The cyr gene cluster of R. curvata CHAB1150 was sequenced, and the cyr genes of this strain were found to have extremely high similarities (96% to 100%) to those from other nostocalean species. These species include Cylindrospermopsis raciborskii AWT205, Aphanizomenon sp. strain 10E6, and Aphanizomenon ovalisporum ILC-146. Insertion mutation was identified within the cyrI gene, and transcripts of cyrI and another functional gene cyrJ were detected in R. curvata CHAB1150. General congruence between the phylogenetic trees based on both cyr and 16S rrn was displayed. Neutral evolution was found on the whole sequences of the cyr genes, and 0 to 89 negative selected codons were detected in each gene. Therefore, the function of CyrI is to catalyze the oxygenation of 7-deoxy-CYN in CYN biosynthesis. The transcripts of the mutated cyrI gene may result from polycistronic transcription. The high conservation of the cyr genes may be ascribed to purifying selection and horizontal gene transfer.

Geographic pattern of phytoplankton community and their drivers in lakes of middle and lower reaches of Yangtze River floodplain, China.

Disentangling the relative contributions of deterministic and stochastic processes was critical to compressive understanding of underlying mechanism governing geographic pattern and assembly of phytoplankton community, while it was seldom performed in connected lakes under human pressure. Here, we investigated phytoplankton community pattern in relation to environmental and spatial factors over 81 lakes located in the middle and lower reaches of Yangtze River (MLYR) floodplain, where many lakes suffered from eutrophication and cyanobacterial blooms. A majority of MLYR lakes had higher phytoplankton abundance surpassing 107 cells/L and were dominated by common bloom-forming cyanobacterial genera, including Pseudanabaena, Microcystis, Merismopedia, Dolichospermum, Limnothrix, and Raphidiopsis. Phytoplankton community exhibited a striking geographical pattern both for taxonomic and functional compositions, while functional groups were less sensitive, and dissimilarity in communities displayed no significant increases with increasing geographical distance. Further, species richness explained much higher percentage of community variations than species turnover, indicating a reduced effect of environmental filtering of phytoplankton species with tolerance to similar environments in connected MLYR lakes. Both deterministic and stochastic processes governed assembly and biogeographic of phytoplankton community. Variation partition analysis showed that spatial factors exhibited greater influence on phytoplankton community compared to environmental variables. The stronger influence of spatial factors was further demonstrated by Mantel test and neutral community model. These findings indicate that deterministic and stochastic processes exhibited similar biogeographic patterns for phytoplankton community in MLYR lakes, but stochastic process was overwhelmingly dominated. Moreover, a large proportion of unexplained variation implies that complex interactions exist to shape assembly mechanism of phytoplankton community in MLYR lakes.

First report of microcystin production in Microcystis smithii Komárek and Anagnostidis (Cyanobacteria) from a water bloom in Eastern China.

A water bloom sample collected from Lake Dishui in Shanghai was characterized. The morphological identification showed that Micorcystis wesenbergii and Micorcystis smithii were the main component of the bloom. Five strains of M. smithii were successfully isolated. Their 16S rRNA gene sequences based phylogenetic tree showed that the five strains of M. smithii intermixed with strains of other morphospecies in Microcystis. A fragment of mcy gene encoding for microcystin synthetase was detected in one of the five M. smithii strains (CHAB 2183), indicating its potential of microcystin production. High performance liquid chromatography analysis confirmed M. smithii CHAB 2183 to produce microcystin-RR as 1550 microg per gram dry weight cells. The present investigation, for the first time, reported the isolated strains of M. smithii and microcystin production from M. smithii.

Four decades of progress in cylindrospermopsin research: The ins and outs of a potent cyanotoxin.

The cyanotoxin cylindrospermopsin (CYN), a toxic metabolite from cyanobacteria, is of particular concern due to its cosmopolitan occurrence, aquatic bioaccumulation, and multi-organ toxicity. CYN is the second most often recorded cyanotoxin worldwide, and cases of human morbidity and animal mortality are associated with ingestion of CYN contaminated water. The toxin poses a great challenge for drinking water treatment plants and public health authorities. CYN, with the major toxicity manifested in the liver, is cytotoxic, genotoxic, immunotoxic, neurotoxic and may be carcinogenic. Adverse effects are also reported for endocrine and developmental processes. We present a comprehensive review of CYN over the past four decades since its first reported poisoning event, highlighting its global occurrence, biosynthesis, toxicology, removal, and monitoring. In addition, current data gaps are identified, and future directions for CYN research are outlined. This review is beneficial for understanding the ins and outs of this environmental pollutant, and for robustly assessing health hazards posed by CYN exposure to humans and other organisms.

Cyanobacterial blooms in China: diversity, distribution, and cyanotoxins.

Cyanobacterial blooms, which refer to the massive growth of harmful cyanobacteria, have altered the global freshwater ecosystems during the past decades. China has the largest population in the world, and it is suffering from the harmful effect of water eutrophication and cyanobacterial blooms along with rapid development of the economy and society. Research on cyanobacterial blooms and cyanotoxins in China have been overwhelmingly enhanced and emphasized during the past decades. In the present review, the research on cyanobacterial blooms in China is generally introduced, including the history of cyanobacterial bloom studies, the diversity of the bloom-forming cyanobacteria species (BFCS), and cyanotoxin studies in China. Most studies have focused on Microcystis, its blooms, and microcystins. Newly emerging blooms with the dominance of non-Microcystis BFCS have been gradually expanding to wide regions in China. Understanding the basic features of these non-Microcystis BFCS and their blooms, including their diversity, occurrence, physio-ecology, and harmful metabolites, will provide direction on future studies of cyanobacterial blooms in China.

Occurrence of Raphidiopsis raciborskii blooms in cool waters: Synergistic effects of nitrogen availability and ecotypes with adaptation to low temperature.

Raphidiopsis raciborskii is a diazotrophic and potentially toxic cyanobacterium. To date, this species has successfully invaded many regions from the tropics to sub-tropical and temperate regions, typically forming blooms at temperatures greater than 25 °C. However, there have been a few cases in which R. raciborskii blooms have occurred at low temperatures (below 15 °C), but its cause and mechanisms remain unclear. In this study, field investigations revealed that R. raciborskii blooms occurred at 10-15 °C in Lake Xihu, Yunnan, China. The biomass of R. raciborskii was found to be positively related to nitrate concentrations in this lake. Three strains of R. raciborskii, two isolated from Lake Xihu (CHAB 6611 and CHAB 6612) and one from Lushui Reservoir in central China (CHAB 3409), were used for growth experiments at 15 °C. The three strains exhibited genotypic (16S rRNA and ITS-L genes) and physiological differences in response to nitrogen concentrations at low temperature. The growth rates of strains CHAB 6611 and CHAB 6612 increased with nitrogen concentration while CHAB 3409 could not grow at 15 °C. Furthermore, the growth and phenotypic responses of CHAB 6611 and CHAB 6612 to nitrogen concentrations were different, despite the closer genetic relationship shared by these two strains. Thus, increased nitrogen concentration in water may enhance the biological availability and utilization of nitrogen by R. raciborskii, which is the external promoter, leading to improving the resistance of R. raciborskii to low temperature. The internal cause is the presence of ecotypes in R. raciborskii populations with adaptation to low temperature. With increasing global eutrophication, the distribution range of R. raciborskii as well as the scale of its blooms will increase. As such, the risk of exposure of aquatic biota and humans to cylindrospermopsin is also expected to increase.

Using molecular detection for the diversity and occurrence of cyanobacteria and 2-methylisoborneol-producing cyanobacteria in an eutrophicated reservoir in northern China.

Aquatic ecosystems and drinking water supply systems worldwide are increasingly affected by taste and odor episodes. In this study, molecular approaches including next-generation sequencing (NGS) and quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) were used to study the diversity and dynamics of cyanobacteria and 2-methylisoborneol (2-MIB)-producing cyanobacteria in Yuqiao Reservoir, a eutrophicated drinking water reservoir in Tianjin city, northern China. NGS revealed that the entire cyanobacterial community consisted of 16 genera, with Planktothrix (28.8%), Pseudanabaena (18.4%), Cylindrospermosis (7.8%), and Microcystis (7.6%) being the dominant genera, while microscopic examination identified only eight cyanobacterial genera. NGS of the 2-MIB synthesis gene revealed that Pseudanabaena and Planktothricoides were the main 2-MIB producers, with Pseudanabaena being dominant. This finding demonstrated that NGS can identify 2-MIB producers quickly and accurately and it can thus play an important role in the practical monitoring of aquatic ecology. The qPCR test showed 2-MIB synthesis gene with 4.27 × 106 copies/L to 2.24 × 109copies/L occurring at the three sampling sites. The mic gene copy number increased before the 2-MIB concentration increased, indicating that forecasting role in dealing with the 2-MIB concentration by gene copy number. Predicting 2-MIB by qPCR in the field must be verified with additional studies. The combination of NGS and qPCR can be an even more comprehensive method to provide early warning information to managers of reservoirs and water utilities facing taste and odor incidents. This is the first amplicon NGS dataset based on 2-MIB gene to study the diversity and dynamics of 2-MIB-producing cyanobacteria.

Genome Evolution of Filamentous Cyanobacterium Nostoc Species: From Facultative Symbiosis to Free Living.

In contrast to obligate bacteria, facultative symbiotic bacteria are mainly characterized by genome enlargement. However, the underlying relationship of this feature with adaptations to various habitats remains unclear. In this study, we used the global genome data of Nostoc strains, including 10 novel genomes sequenced in this study and 26 genomes available from public databases, and analyzed their evolutionary history. The evolutionary boundary of the real clade of Nostoc species was identified and was found to be consistent with the results of polyphasic taxonomy. The initial ancestral species of Nostoc was demonstrated to be consistent with a facultative symbiotic population. Further analyses revealed that Nostoc strains tended to shift from facultative symbiosis to a free-living one, along with an increase in genome sizes during the dispersal of each exterior branch. Intracellular symbiosis was proved to be essentially related to Nostoc evolution, and the adaptation of its members to free-living environments was coupled with a large preference for gene acquisition involved in gene repair and recombination. These findings provided unique evidence of genomic mechanisms by which homologous microbes adapt to distinct life manners and external environments.

Towards clarification of the inhibitory mechanism of wheat bran leachate on Microcystis aeruginosa NIES-843 (Cyanobacteria): physiological responses.

Wheat bran leachate (WBL) has been shown to have an inhibitory effect on Microcystis aeruginosa in this study. In order to explore the inhibitory mechanism of WBL on M. aeruginosa, physiological responses of M. aeruginosa NIES-843 under the WBL stress were studied. The expressions of six important genes related to the D1 protein of photosynthetic processes (psbA), synthesis of microcystins (mcyB), antioxidant protein peroxiredoxin (prx), synthesis of fatty acid (fabZ) and the repair of biological macromolecules (recA, grpE) were studied. Under the WBL stress, no significant change was found in expressions of both grpE and recA, but expressions of psbA, fabZ and prx were shown to be down-regulated, and slight up-regulated expression was found in mcyB. It was shown that oxygen evolution of M. aeruginosa NIES-843 was significantly depressed, and intracellular ATP contents became lower, after exposure to WBL. Similarly, maximum electron transport rates of photosynthetic activities decreased significantly, but intracellular reactive oxygen species levels boosted dramatically under the WBL stress, and cell lysis was observed. Therefore, it is suggested that photosynthetic systems and membranes were the potential targets of toxicity of WBL on M. aeruginosa, and the oxidative damage is an important mechanism explaining the inhibitory effect of WBL on M. aeruginosa.