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The therapeutic muds of the Euganean Thermal District, the oldest and largest thermal site in Europe, are recognized by the Italian Health System as an excellent treatment for osteoarticular diseases of inflammatory origin. The beneficial effects that have been demonstrated for these muds are due not only to heat and electrolytes, but also to bioactive compounds released from the microbial community, mainly composed of cyanobacteria, living in the thermal mud surface. We isolated and characterized a new coil-shaped filamentous cyanobacterium through a polyphasic approach. Molecular, morphological and biochemical data supported the description of the microorganism as a new species, Thermospirulina andreolii, of the new genus Thermospirulina, which includes other Spirulina-like cyanobacteria living in different thermal springs around the world. Biochemical analyses highlighted the capability of the strain to synthesize high amounts of phycocyanin and exopolysaccharides, with possible antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities, suggesting its potential for contributing to the healing properties of the Euganean muds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper we report a morphological, ultrastructural, biochemical and molecular (16S rRNA, 16S-23S ITS, rbcL and rpoC1 gene sequencing) survey on a very thin, non-heterocystous, filamentous cyanobacterium, isolated from mats covering several mud maturation tanks of the Euganean Thermal District, at temperatures ranging from 26 to 59°C. Denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis results, obtained using cyanobacterial primers targeting the 16S rRNA gene, confirmed that this cyanobacterium is one of the commonest taxa growing in the mud tanks. Comparison with Geitlerinema sp. PCC 8501 (=Phormidium laminosum Gomont ex Gomont strain OH-1-p Cl 1), a thin thermobiotic species isolated from hot springs of Oregon and morphologically similar to our isolate, led us to hypothesize that the Euganean and PCC 8501 strains are either very similar sister species or ecotypes of the same species in a yet to be defined clade, clearly distinct within the paraphyletic Leptolyngbya group. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]