Long-term acclimation might enhance the growth and competitive ability of Microcystis aeruginosa in warm environments

1. The positive effect of global warming on the growth of cyanobacteria has been widely predicted, but long-term studies targeting their adaptive potential to higher temperature have not been carried out so far. Predicting the magnitude and impact of cyanobacterial blooms in the future as a response to global warming requires an understanding of how cyanobacteria might change in the long term due to climate change. 2. Here we examined the effect of exposing three Microcystis aeruginosa strains isolated in Romania to ambient (22°C) and high (26°C) temperature for 6 months. Then, the competitive ability of the strains after heat acclimation was evaluated, by analysing their impact on plankton community composition. 3. One of the three strains displayed significantly higher growth rates after 6 months of cultivation at higher temperatures. Following inoculation into a natural plankton community, the overall cyanobacterial abundance significantly increased in the cultures inoculated with this heat-acclimated strain of M. aeruginosa as compared to the ambient-acclimated version. The structure of eukaryotic communities was impacted by both inoculated cyanobacteria and temperature during the experiments. 4. The results of this study emphasise the high potential of cyanobacteria to respond to stressors, and highlight the fact that previous acclimation to warming is a critical factor in shaping the overall structure of plankton communities. 5. Our study strongly advocates for including a step of culture acclimation to future experimental conditions in research programmes aiming to better understand the long-term impact of climate change on aquatic ecosystems

Acclimation to various temperature and pCO2 levels does not impact the competitive ability of two strains of Skeletonema marinoi in natural communities

Understanding the long-term response of key marine phytoplankton species to ongoing global changes is pivotal in determining how oceanic community composition will respond over the coming decades. To better understand the impact of ocean acidification and warming, we acclimated two strains of Skeletonema marinoi isolated from natural communities to three pCO2 (400 μatm, 600 μatm and 1000 μatm) for 8 months and five temperature conditions (7°C, 10°C, 13°C, 16°C and 19°C) for 11 months. These strains were then tested in natural microbial communities, exposed to three pCO2 treatments (400 μatm, 600 μatm and 1000 μatm). DNA metabarcoding of the 16S and 18S gene for prokaryotes and eukaryotes respectively was used to show differences in abundance and diversity between the three CO2 treatments. We found there were no significant differences in acclimated S. marinoi concentrations between the three pCO2 treatments, most likely due to the high variability these strains experience in their natural environment. There were significant compositional differences between the pCO2 treatments for prokaryotes suggesting that indirect changes to phytoplankton-bacteria interactions could be a possible driver of bacterial community composition. Yet, there were no differences for eukaryotic community composition, with all treatments dominated by diatoms (but not the acclimated S. marinoi) resulting in similar biodiversity. Furthermore, strain-specific differences in community composition suggests interactions between prokaryotic and eukaryotic taxa could play a role in determining future community composition.publishedVersio

The impact of cation concentration on Microcystis (cyanobacteria) scum formation

Cyanobacterial scums at the surface of the lakes are potentially harmful phenomena with increasing occurrence in the last decades, and the causes that lead to their formation are still an unresolved issue. In order to better understand what triggers the scums, we investigated the effect of several Mg²⁺ and Ca²⁺ ion concentrations in promoting them in eight Microcystis aeruginosa strains. The possibility to prevent scum formation by using the ion chelator EDTA was also explored. We found that in some strains the cell aggregation takes place under lower ion source concentrations (20 mM MgSO₄ or CaCl₂), while in others this phenomenon does not occur even at 60 mM concentration. The scum formation correlated to the amount of extracellular polymeric substances (between 234 and 351 µg/cell). EDTA failed to prevent the scum formation in most strains, and in turn it caused cell lysis followed by the release of cellular content into the culture medium. We emphasize the relevance of these results for cyanobacterial scum formation in the environment and we also suggest that controlling the salinity of the medium (by manipulating the ion concentration) is a potentially efficient method for biomass harvesting in large ponds/tanks

Interaction between wastewater microorganisms and geopolymer or cementitious materials: Biofilm characterization and deterioration characteristics of mortars

This paper compares the biofilm formation during field exposure to real municipal wastewaters on geopolymer and copper-doped geopolymer mortar, with plain Portland cement and calcium aluminate cement as controls. The samples were submerged in a wastewater treatment plant at three different stages for 35 days (primary clarifier, activated sludge and final effluent), which led to diverse chemical and biological exposure conditions due to the different organic load of the three environments. The deterioration characteristics of the four different mortars were analyzed using X-ray diffraction, thermogravimetric analysis and optical microscopy. The formed biofilm was characterized by measuring the protein concentration at the sample surface and bacterial respiration. After wastewater exposure, the protein concentration on the Portland cement samples was 50% higher as compared to the geopolymer mortars, while the respiration rates on the Portland/calcium aluminate cement samples was 2.5 times higher than on the geopolymer doped with copper, suggesting a lower bioreceptivity for the latter material. Scanning electron microscopy revealed the presence of biofilm on mortar surfaces, especially on the samples exposed to organic-rich wastewaters. After being exposed to wastewater, the degree of degradation of the geopolymer-based mortars was much lower than the two controls. This may suggest that these materials can be a potential alternative to conventional cement-based binders in order to limit the growth of microorganism on concrete surfaces as well as exhibiting an enhanced acid resistance

Two Novel Alliin Lyase (Alliinase) Genes from Twisted-Leaf Garlic (Allium obliquum) and Mountain Garlic (Allium senescens ssp. montanum)

Alliinase (Alliin lyase EC 4.4.1.4), a pyridoxal phosphate-dependent lyase, represents one of the major protein components of Allium species. The enzyme is a homodimeric glycoprotein and catalyzes the synthesis of allicin (diallyl thiosulfinate, a biologically active compound), pyruvate, and ammonia starting from the specific non-protein sulfur-containing amino acid alliin ((+S)-allyl-L-cysteine sulfoxide). Using newly developed specific primers two new alliinase genes from Allium obliquum and Allium senescens ssp. montanum were amplified and sequenced, as well as their homologs, from Allium fistulosum and Allium schoenoprasum. The G+C content of the alliinase region ranges between that of other dicot plants and that reported in monocot cereal plants, in all four species. Investigations of gene expression revealed a significantly higher enzyme expression level in bulbs than in leaves in all four taxa. The deduced alliinase sequences displayed a high variability among different species, since the lowest sequence similarity was found to be 55.5% between Allium senescens ssp. montanum and Allium cepa, while the highest similarity is 77.5%, between Allium senescens ssp. montanum and Allium fistulosum. Leucine is the most common amino acid in all four alliinases, while cysteine is also more frequent than in other enzymes, suggesting a high stability of the molecules due to the possible disulfide bonds

The impact of cation concentration on Microcystis (cyanobacteria) scum formation

Abstract Cyanobacterial scums at the surface of the lakes are potentially harmful phenomena with increasing occurrence in the last decades, and the causes that lead to their formation are still an unresolved issue. In order to better understand what triggers the scums, we investigated the effect of several Mg2+ and Ca2+ ion concentrations in promoting them in eight Microcystis aeruginosa strains. The possibility to prevent scum formation by using the ion chelator EDTA was also explored. We found that in some strains the cell aggregation takes place under lower ion source concentrations (20 mM MgSO4 or CaCl2), while in others this phenomenon does not occur even at 60 mM concentration. The scum formation correlated to the amount of extracellular polymeric substances (between 234 and 351 µg/cell). EDTA failed to prevent the scum formation in most strains, and in turn it caused cell lysis followed by the release of cellular content into the culture medium. We emphasize the relevance of these results for cyanobacterial scum formation in the environment and we also suggest that controlling the salinity of the medium (by manipulating the ion concentration) is a potentially efficient method for biomass harvesting in large ponds/tanks

DataSheet_1_Acclimation to various temperature and pCO2 levels does not impact the competitive ability of two strains of Skeletonema marinoi in natural communities.docx

Understanding the long-term response of key marine phytoplankton species to ongoing global changes is pivotal in determining how oceanic community composition will respond over the coming decades. To better understand the impact of ocean acidification and warming, we acclimated two strains of Skeletonema marinoi isolated from natural communities to three pCO2 (400 μatm, 600 μatm and 1000 μatm) for 8 months and five temperature conditions (7°C, 10°C, 13°C, 16°C and 19°C) for 11 months. These strains were then tested in natural microbial communities, exposed to three pCO2 treatments (400 μatm, 600 μatm and 1000 μatm). DNA metabarcoding of the 16S and 18S gene for prokaryotes and eukaryotes respectively was used to show differences in abundance and diversity between the three CO2 treatments. We found there were no significant differences in acclimated S. marinoi concentrations between the three pCO2 treatments, most likely due to the high variability these strains experience in their natural environment. There were significant compositional differences between the pCO2 treatments for prokaryotes suggesting that indirect changes to phytoplankton-bacteria interactions could be a possible driver of bacterial community composition. Yet, there were no differences for eukaryotic community composition, with all treatments dominated by diatoms (but not the acclimated S. marinoi) resulting in similar biodiversity. Furthermore, strain-specific differences in community composition suggests interactions between prokaryotic and eukaryotic taxa could play a role in determining future community composition.</p