Unusual cohabitation and competition between Planktothrix rubescens and Microcystis sp (cyanobacteria) in a subtropical reservoir (Hammam Debagh) located in Algeria

Succession in bloom-forming cyanobacteria belonging to distant functional groups in freshwater ecosystems is currently an undescribed phenomenon. However in the Hammam Debagh reservoir (Algeria), P. rubescens and Microcystis sp. co-occur and sometimes proliferate. With the aim of identifying the main factors and processes involved in this unusual cohabitation, water samples were collected monthly from February 2013 to June 2015 at the subsurface at four sampling stations and along the entire water column at one sampling station. In addition, the composition of the cyanobacterial communities was estimated by Illumina sequencing of a 16S rRNA gene fragment from samples collected over one year (October 2013-November 2014). This molecular approach showed that the Hammam Debagh reservoir displays high species richness (89 species) but very low diversity due to the high dominance of Microcystis in this community. Furthermore, it appears that Planktothrix rubescens and Microcystis sp. coexisted (from September to January) but proliferated alternately (Spring 2015 for P. rubescens and Spring 2014 and Autumn 2014/2015 for Microcystis). The main factors and processes explaining these changes in bloom-forming species seem to be related to the variation in the depth of the lake during the mixing period and to the water temperatures during the winter prior to the bloom season in spring

Cyanobacteria Dynamics in a Mediterranean Reservoir of the North East of Algeria: Vertical and Seasonal Variability

Harmful cyanobacterial efflorescence is of growing global concern and its prediction and management require a better understanding of the growth control factors and dominance of cyanobacteria. The Zit-Emba reservoir located in the North-East of Algeria, was constructed to provide drinking water, irrigation, and fishing. The vertical and seasonal distribution variation of cyanobacteria community associated with environmental factors was comprehensively investigated from April 2016 to December 2016 at five depths, based on a seasonal sampling. The cyanobacteria communities of this reservoir are composed of seven genera belonging to five orders. The average proportion of Microcystis to total cyanobacteria population was 43%, followed by Woronichinia 21%, Planktothrix 16%, Dolichospermum 13%, Oscillatoria 5%, and the remainder (Merismopedia, Spirulina) 2%. The average cyanobacterial abundance was 2702 cells/mL, ranging from 360 to 65 795 cells/mL and this abundance exceeds the alert level 1 throughout the year. The most recurrent periods of increase took place from spring to summer and autumn. However, the vertical distributions of cyanobacteria displayed a similar profile each season, and abundances tended to decrease with depth. The results of the statistical analysis suggested that the most abundant of cyanobacterial genera were positively related to chlorophyll-a and water temperature and negatively with the concentrations of NO3-N, NH4-N, and NO2-N. This demonstration of toxigenic cyanobacteria in this drinking water production dam involves regular monitoring of the cyanobacterial communities and cyanotoxins in raw water

Dynamic of Filamentous Cyanobacteria in the Dam Ain Zada (North of Algeria)

Actually, harmful cyanobacterial efflorescence in Algerian water bodies used for drinking water are dominant throughout the year and their management requires a better knowledge of the cyanobacteria dynamics and the environmental parameters related to their dominance. The Ain Zada reservoir is a home of 5 genera. Occurrence frequency estimation of the identified genera shows the constancy of Planktothrix, the regularity of Aphanizomenon, Pseudanabaena and Cylindrospermopsis and the rarity of Oscillatoria. The dominating genus Planktothrix is represented exclusively by Planktothrix agardhii ; This species showed the highest proportion rates in winter (95.61 %), spring (94.80 %) and autumn (80.29 %) and the lowest in summer (29.16 %). Planktothrix agardii abundances show positive relation with suspended solids and chlorophyll a and negative relation with the depth of Secchi disc. Blooms of the potential toxinogenic Planktothrix agardhii and Cylindrospermopsis are related negatively. Results from cyanotoxins and pigments characterization showed a strong positive relation of Planktothrix agardhii abundance with microcystins (MCs) and phycocyanin (PC) concentrations. Indeed, in Ain Zada dam, we found that MCs contents have positive relation with water temperature and pH and negative relation with NO3. Our results show that, except for the months of March, October and November, the monthly abundances of cyanobacterial population recorded in Ain Zada dam exceeded the alert level 2. The filamentous species found in this dam are of great concern they are able to synthesize toxins harmful to aquatic and terrestrial organisms. Further research is needed to confirm the presence of other cyanotoxins (e.g. cylindrospermopsin) in Ain Zada dam

Protective Effect of Recombinant Human Erythropoietin Against Cisplatin-Induced Oxidative Stress and Nephrotoxicity in Rat Kidney

Cisplatin (Cisp) is one of the most widely used chemotherapeutic agents for the treatment of several human malignancies. The efficacy of Cisp is dose dependent and at higher doses serious kidney injury may occur. Recombinant human erythropoietin (rhEPO) has recently been shown to exert an important cytoprotective effect in experimental brain injury and ischemic acute renal failure. The aim of the present study was to explore whether rhEPO administration is protective against Cisp-induced oxidative damage and renal injury. Our results showed that Cisp induced a marked oxidative stress and renal failure. Administration of rhEPO (pre-, co- or postadministration with regard to Cisp) decreased oxidative damage induced by Cisp. Recombinant human EPO reduced malondialdehyde and protein carbonyl levels. Recombinant human EPO also prevented glutathione depletion and ameliorated the increased catalase activity induced by Cisp treatment. Furthermore, rhEPO restored creatinine and blood urea nitrogen levels increased by Cisp. We concluded that rhEPO administration especially in pretreatment condition protected rats against Cisp-induced renal oxidative stress and nephrotoxicity

Modelling Microcystis Cell Density in a Mediterranean Shallow Lake of Northeast Algeria (Oubeira Lake), Using Evolutionary and Classic Programming

Caused by excess levels of nutrients and increased temperatures, freshwater cyanobacterial blooms have become a serious global issue. However, with the development of artificial intelligence and extreme learning machine methods, the forecasting of cyanobacteria blooms has become more feasible. We explored the use of multiple techniques, including both statistical [Multiple Regression Model (MLR) and Support Vector Machine (SVM)] and evolutionary [Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO), Genetic Algorithm (GA), and Bird Swarm Algorithm (BSA)], to approximate models for the prediction of Microcystis density. The data set was collected from Oubeira Lake, a natural shallow Mediterranean lake in the northeast of Algeria. From the correlation analysis of ten water variables monitored, six potential factors including temperature, ammonium, nitrate, and ortho-phosphate were selected. The performance indices showed; MLR and PSO provided the best results. PSO gave the best fitness but all techniques performed well. BSA had better fitness but was very slow across generations. PSO was faster than the other techniques and at generation 20 it passed BSA. GA passed BSA a little further, at generation 50. The major contributions of our work not only focus on the modelling process itself, but also take into consideration the main factors affecting Microcystis blooms, by incorporating them in all applied models

Leaf Morphological and Epidermal Traits Variability along Environmental Gradients in Ten Natural Populations of Pistacia lentiscus

International audienceThe species belonging to the genus Pistacia possess ecological, economic, and medicinal value. They show a very high ecological plasticity. This research is a contribution to the study of the intraspecific diversity and variability of 10 populations of Pistacia lentiscus in different bioclimates. Nine locations in Algeria and one site in France have been selected in order to understand the strategies developed by this species under extreme conditions, including altitude and aridity, and to identify the adaptive processes that can be observed based on the morphological and ultrastructural features of the leaf. As a result of this research, we have collected a large quantity of important information on morphological and microphytodermal leaf variability for the ten studied populations. The statistical analyses showed a very important difference in the studied characteristics between these populations. It has been demonstrated that environmental factors also have a significant impact on the heterogeneity of most measured leaf features. Moreover, the observations with the scanning electron microscope (SEM) enabled us to highlight new characteristics of the studied species, such as the glandular trichomes on the leaflets and embedded stomata in the epidermis. These criteria could supplement the existing morphological characteristics used in the systematic classification of the Pistacia genus. Overall, the studied species have shown xeromorphy features, which give them the opportunity to be used in desertification mitigation programs, due to their ability to withstand conditions of extreme aridity

Summary of the richness and diversity indices calculated after normalization to the smallest sample size (n = 1367 reads) (samples from July (n = 527) were not taken into account).

<p>Summary of the richness and diversity indices calculated after normalization to the smallest sample size (n = 1367 reads) (samples from July (n = 527) were not taken into account).</p

Temporal variation in the abundance of <i>P</i>. <i>rubescens</i> and <i>Microcystis</i> sp. estimated by microscopic cell counting and by the number of reads in our Illumina dataset (from October 2013 to November 2014).

<p>(a) Indicates the number of reads of <i>P</i>. <i>rubescens</i> and <i>Microcystis</i> sp. performed by Illumina MiSeq sequencing. DNA extracts from 4 sampling points were pooled before sequencing. Reads were normalized to the smallest sample (n = 67,012 reads) on the basis of bacterial sequences. (b) Indicates the temporal dynamics in <i>P</i>. <i>rubescens</i> and <i>Microcystis</i> sp. cell counts. Cell counts are expressed as the median values of the data collected at the four sampling points. * No sample available.</p