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Cyanobacterial blooms drastically influence carbon and nutrient cycling in eutrophic freshwater lakes. To understand the mineralization process of cyanobacteria-derived particulate organic matter (CyanPOM), the aerobic degradation of cyanobacterial blooms dominated by Microcystis sp. was investigated over a 95-day microcosm experiment. Approximately 91%, 95% and 83% of the initial particulate organic carbon (POC), particulate organic nitrogen (PON), and particulate organic phosphorus (POP) were decomposed, respectively. The POC:PON ratio gradually increased from 5.9 to 13.5, whereas the POC:POP ratio gradually decreased from 230.3 to 120. These results indicated that the coupling of POC, PON, and POP changed during the decomposition of CyanPOM. Moreover, approximately 29%, 51% and 46% of POC, PON, and POP were mineralized to dissolved organic carbon, NO 3 - , and PO 4 3- , respectively. Rhodospirillales (10.9%), Burkholderiales (16.5%), and Verrucomicrobiales (14.3%) dominated during the rapid phase (days 0-21), whereas Sphingomonadales (12.8%), Rhizobiales (11.8%), and Xanthomonadales (36.5%) dominated during the slow phase (days 21-50) of CyanPOM decomposition. Nitrospira (16.6%-32.9%) dominated and NO 3 - increased during the refractory phase (days 50-95), thus suggesting the occurrence of nitrification. Redundancy analysis revealed that bacterial communities during rapid decomposition were distinct from those during the slow and refractory periods. POC:POP, NH 4 + , and NO 3 - were the major driving factors for the patterns of bacterial communities. Furthermore, increase in nitrogen metabolism, methane metabolism, amino acid related enzymes and pyruvate metabolism characterized the functional variation of bacterial communities during degradation. Therefore, CyanPOM is an important nutrient source, and its decomposition level shapes bacterial communities., (Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Microcystis is the dominant algal bloom genus in Lake Taihu. Thus, controlling the recruitment and growth of Microcystis is the most crucial aspect of solving the problem of algal blooms. Different concentrations (0.025, 0.05, and 0.1 g L(-1)) of tea extract were used to treat barrels of lake water at the recruitment stage of cyanobacteria. There was an inhibitory effect on algal growth in all treatment groups. The inhibitory effect on cyanobacteria was stronger than on other algae. The metabolic activity of cells in the treatment groups was significantly enhanced compared to the control, as an adaptation to the stress caused by tea polyphenols. The photosynthetic activity diminished in the treatment groups and was barely detected in the 0.05 and 0.1 g L(-1) treatments. The levels of reactive oxygen species increased substantially in treated cells with the algal cells experiencing oxidative damage. The effect of tea on zooplankton was also studied. The number of Bosmina fatalis individuals did not change significantly in the 0.025 and 0.05 g L(-1) treatments. These results suggested that the application of tea extracts, during the recruitment stage of blue-green algae, suppressed the recruitment and growth of cyanobacteria, thus offering the potential to prevent cyanobacterial blooms.

Microcystins (MCs) are cyclic hepatotoxic heptapeptides produced by cyanobacteria that can be toxic to aquatic and terrestrial organisms. MC synthesis and degradation are thought to be influenced by several different physical and environmental parameters. In this study, the effects of different intensities of UV-B radiation on MC biosynthesis in Microcystis cells and on its extracellular degradation were investigated by mRNA analysis and degradation experiments. Exposure to UV-B at intensities of 1.02 and 1.45 W/m² not only remarkably inhibited the growth of Microcystis, but also led to a decrease in the MC concentration. In addition, mcyD transcription was decreased under the same UV-B intensities. These results demonstrated that the effects of UV-B exposure on the biosynthesis of MCs in Microcystis cells could be attributed to the regulation of mcy gene transcription. Moreover, the MC concentration was decreased significantly after exposure to different intensities of UV-B radiation. Of the three MC variants (MC-LR, -RR and -YR, L, R and Y are abbreviations of leucine, arginine and tyrosine), MC-LR and MC-YR were sensitive to UV-B radiation, whereas MC-RR was not. In summary, our results showed that UV-B radiation had a negative effect on MC production in Microcystis cells and MC persistence in the extracellular space.

In an attempt to elucidate the effects of different CO2 concentrations (270, 380, and 750 μL/L) on the competition of microcystin-producing (MC-producing) and non-MC-producing Microcystis strains during dense cyanobacteria blooms, an in situ simulation experiment was conducted in the Meiliang Bay of Lake Taihu in the summer of 2012. The abundance of total Microcystis and MC-producing Microcystis genotypes was quantified based on the 16S rDNA and mcyD gene using real-time PCR. The results showed that atmospheric CO2 elevation would significantly decrease the pH value and increase the dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) concentration. Changes in CO2 concentration did not show significant influence on the abundance of total Microcystis population. However, CO2 concentrations may be an important factor in determining the subpopulation structure of Microcystis. The enhancement of CO2 concentrations could largely increase the competitive ability of non-MC-producing over MC-producing Microcystis, resulting in a higher proportion of non-MC-producing subpopulation in treatments using high CO2 concentrations. Concurrently, MC concentration in water declined when CO2 concentrations were elevated. Therefore, we concluded that the increase of CO2 concentrations might decrease potential health risks of MC for human and animals in the future., (Copyright © 2014. Published by Elsevier B.V.)

Microcystins (MCs) produced by toxic cyanobacteria pose a health hazard to humans and animals. Some environmental factors can alter the MC concentrations by affecting the abundance of toxin-producing strains in a cyanobacteria population and/or their toxin production. In this study, we designed a monoculture and competition experiment to investigate the impacts of UV-B radiation on MC production and the competition between toxin and non-toxin producing strains of Microcystis aeruginosa. UV-B radiation resulted in higher inhibition of the growth and photosynthetic activity of the non-toxin producing strain relative to that observed for the toxin-producing strain. Both intracellular and extracellular MC contents decreased markedly when the toxin-producing strain was exposed to UV-B radiation. In addition, a quantitative real-time PCR assay revealed that the ratio of toxin-producing M. aeruginosa under UV-B exposure was higher than that under PAR alone at an early stage of the experiment. However, its abundance under UV-B exposure was lower compared with the PAR alone treatment after day 12. Our study demonstrated that UV-B radiation has a great impact on the abundance of the toxin-producing strain in the Microcystis population and their toxin production, which suggests that the fluctuation of UV-B radiation affects the MC level of cyanobacteria blooms., (Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Lake Chaohu, which is a large, shallow, hypertrophic freshwater lake in southeastern China, has been experiencing lake-wide toxic Microcystis blooms in recent decades. To illuminate the relationships between microcystin (MC) production, the genotypic composition of the Microcystis community and environmental factors, water samples and associated environmental data were collected from June to October 2012 within Lake Chaohu. The Microcystis genotypes and MC concentrations were quantified using quantitative real-time PCR (qPCR) and HPLC, respectively. The results showed that the abundances of Microcystis genotypes and MC concentrations varied on spatial and temporal scales. Microcystis exists as a mixed population of toxic and non-toxic genotypes, and the proportion of toxic Microcystis genotypes ranged from 9.43% to 87.98%. Both Pearson correlation and stepwise multiple regressions demonstrated that throughout the entire lake, the abundances of total and toxic Microcystis and MC concentrations showed significant positive correlation with the total phosphorus and water temperature, suggesting that increases in temperature together with the phosphorus concentrations may promote more frequent toxic Microcystis blooms and higher concentrations of MC. Whereas, dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) was negatively correlated with the abundances of total and toxic Microcystis and MC concentrations, indicating that rising DIC concentrations may suppress toxic Microcystis abundance and reduce the MC concentrations in the future. Therefore, our results highlight the fact that future eutrophication and global climate change can affect the dynamics of toxic Microcystis blooms and hence change the MC levels in freshwater.

EGCG (Epigallocatechin-3-gallate) has an allelopathic inhibitory effect on Microcystis aeruginosa. Cellular structure, physiological and biochemical reactions and gene expression were examined to explore the mechanism of inhibition. As was shown in electron microscopy, the structure of the cell wall, cell membrane and thylakoid was disrupted by EGCG. EGCG also reduced the efficiency of photosynthesis and the electron transfer rate in M. aeruginosa cells, as was determined with a flow cytometer. Quantitative real-time PCR analysis demonstrated that gene expression of the core proteins of the photosynthesis centers PSI and PSII and ATP synthase were reduced, while the expression of the phycobilisome degradation protein A gene (nbl A) was elevated. The expression of the universal stress protein gene increased, which would enhance the adaptive capacity of Microcystis cells to polyphenols and oxidative stress. Furthermore, EGCG elevated the level of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in M. aeruginosa cells, and thus caused oxidative cellular damage. When treated with EGCG at low concentrations (10 and 40 mg L(-)(1)), the cells were able to activate defense systems to degrade the excess ROS. But at a concentration of 70 mg L(-)(1), oxidative stress exceeded tolerance limits, and the cells were severely damaged. We concluded that damage to photosynthesis and oxidative stress were the primary mechanisms for the allelopathic effect of EGCG on M. aeruginosa., (Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Lake Taihu is a large shallow freshwater lake (surface area 2,338 km(2), mean depth 1.9 m) in China, which has experienced toxic cyanobacterial bloom dominated by Microcystis annually during the last few decades. In the present study, the dynamics of toxic and nontoxic Microcystis in three sampling stations (Meiliang Bay (site N2), Gonghu Bay (site N4), and the lake center area (site S4)) were quantified using quantitative real-time PCR (qPCR) during bloom periods from April to September, 2010. Our data showed that the abundance of toxic Microcystis and the toxic proportion gradually increased from April to August in water samples and reached the peak in August. During the study period, toxic Microcystis genotypes comprised between 26.2 and 64.3, between 4.4 and 22.1, and between 10.4 and 20.6 % of the total Microcystis populations in the three sampling sites, respectively. Correlation analysis suggested that there was a strong positive relationship between total Microcystis, toxic Microcystis and the toxic proportion. Chlorophyll a, total phosphorus, and water temperature were positively correlated with the abundances of total Microcystis and toxic Microcystis. Furthermore, the toxic proportion was positively correlated with total phosphorus (P < 0.05) and water temperature (P < 0.01), showing that global warming together with eutrophication could promote more frequent toxic blooms.

The cyanobacterium Microcystis, which occurs as colonies of different sizes under natural conditions, can produce toxic microcystins (MCs). To monitor the toxicity and assess the risk of Microcystis blooms in Lake Taihu, it is important to investigate the relationship between MC production and Microcystis colony size. In this study, we classified Microcystis collected from Zhushan Bay of Lake Taihu during blooms into four classes with size of <50 μm, 50-100 μm, 100-270 μm and >270 μm and studied their differences in MC production and genetic structure. The results showed that colonies with size of <50, 50-100, 100-270 and >270 μm produced 12.2 ± 11.2%, 19.5 ± 7.9%, 61.3 ± 12.6%, and 7.0 ± 9.6% of total MC, respectively. The proportion of cell density of colonies with size of 50-100, 100-270 and >270 μm was positively correlated with MC concentration during blooms, while that of colonies with size of <50 μm was negatively correlated. The MC cell quota tended to be higher during blooms in colonies with larger size except that of colonies with size of 100-270 μm was higher than that of colonies with size of >270 μm from June 11 to September 16. Colonies with size of <50 μm showed the highest proportion of the less toxic MC congener MC-RR, and colonies with size of >100 μm showed higher proportion of the most toxic MC congener MC-LR than colonies with size of <100 μm. Real-time PCR indicated that larger colonies had higher proportion of potential toxic genotype. Principal component analysis of PCR-denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis profile showed that cpcBA and mcyJ genotype compositions were different between colonies with size of <50 μm and colonies with size of >50 μm, and cpcBA genotype composition was also different among colonies with size of 50-100 μm, 100-270 μm and >270 μm. These results indicated that MC cell quota and congener composition were different in Microcystis colonies with different sizes in Lake Taihu during blooms, and the differences in MC production in colonies with different size resulted chiefly from the difference in their genotype composition. Therefore, the authorities of water quality monitoring and drinking water supply service in Lake Taihu should be alert that the toxicity of Microcystis colony with different size was different during blooms, and the high abundance of colonies larger than 50 μm could be an indicator of relatively high bloom toxicity., (Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Low concentration of tea (Camellia sinensis (L.) O. Kuntze) was shown to inhibit the growth of the toxic cyanobacterium Microcystis aeruginosa. The inhibition efficiency was 40% at 0.1 g dry tea/L and 90% at 0.2 g/L after a 12-day culture. All varieties of tea used in the test could inhibit Microcystis growth, in which the inhibitory effect of green tea was greater than that of black tea. Antialgal allelochemicals were isolated from tea by solvent extraction, gel-chromatography and high performance liquid chromatography. Two algal-inhibition compounds were identified by liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry as epigallocatechin-3-gallate, epicatechin-3-gallate respectively. These are the main polyphenols in tea that have inhibitory effects on the growth of cyanobacteria. The combined effect of these polyphenols makes tea a promising source of algicide to inhibit the growth of algal blooms.

From spring to autumn, heavy Microcystis blooms always occur in Lake Taihu, although environmental conditions vary markedly. We speculated that Microcystis genotype succession could play an important role in adaptation to environmental changes and long-term maintenance of the high Microcystis biomass. In this study, we investigated Microcystis genotype succession pattern and the related environmental variables in Lake Taihu during cyanobacterial blooms. Denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) of polymerase chain reaction -amplified the genus-specific cpcBA and mcyJ gene fragments was used to monitor the variations of Microcystis genotype and potential microcystin (MC)-producing Microcystis genotype compositions during blooms biweekly in three sites (Meiliang Bay, lake center, and Gonghu Bay) and CANOCO 4.5 for Windows were used for the multivariate statistical analysis of their relationships to environmental variables. DGGE patterns indicated that the number of dominant cpcBA genotype per sample increased from spring to autumn. Principal component analysis ordination plots of DGGE profiles showed clear temporal distribution pattern, but not spatial distribution pattern based on both cpcBA and mcyJ genotype compositions. These results indicated there were relatively gradual successions of Microcystis cpcBA and mcyJ genotype compositions in each site, and no distinct spatial difference among the three sites. Redundancy analyses of the gel patterns showed that, in all the three sites, three environmental factors (nitrate, pH, and chemical oxygen demand) were correlated significantly to successions of both cpcBA and mcyJ genotypes except for mcyJ genotype in the lake center. Spearman's correlations indicated that the three environmental variables were also strongly correlated with chl a and MC concentrations. These results suggested that the environmental factors affecting succession of Microcystis community composition might also influence the growth of Microcystis and MC production.

There is an increasing need to describe the growth characteristics of cyanobacteria exposed to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) because the presence of PAHs in lakes is known to affect the growth of this kind of microorganisms. In this work, the effects of low concentrations of PAHs on Microcystis aeruginosa (M. aeruginosa) were investigated. M. aeruginosa were cultivated in the medium with a mixture of PAHs (0.486 mg L(-1) naphthalene, 0.049 mg L(-1) phenanthrene, and 0.0015 mg L(-1) pyrene) and different concentrations of nitrogen and phosphorus. During 31 d of incubation, profiles of cell number and chlorophyll-a content were determined. The results indicated that when the concentration of an individual PAH was below its no observed effect concentration (NOEC), the exposure of M. aeruginosa to a mixture of PAHs markedly promoted cell density after 7d of culture. Low concentrations of nutrients in the medium improved the growth of M. aeruginosa in the presence of PAHs. When concentrations of both phosphorus and nitrogen were 50% lower than those of the control, the specific growth rate of M. aeruginosa increased by 100% when exposed to PAHs, and the generation time decreased from 10.5 to 5.3d. The chlorophyll-a content in medium also increased from 2.23 to 3.18 μg mL(-1), which was attributed to an increase in cell numbers., (Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Lake Taihu, a large, shallow hypertrophic freshwater lake in eastern China, has experienced lake-wide toxic cyanobacterial blooms annually during summer season in the past decades. Spatial changes in the abundance of hepatotoxin microcystin-producing and nonmicrocystin producing Microcystis populations were investigated in the lake in August of 2009 and 2010. To monitor the densities of the total Microcystis population and the potential microcystin-producing subpopulation, we used a quantitative real-time PCR assay targeting the phycocyanin intergenic spacer (PC-IGS) and the microcystin synthetase gene (mcyD), respectively. On the basis of quantification by real-time PCR analysis, the abundance of potential toxic Microcystis genotypes and the ratio of the mcyD subpopulation to the total Microcystis varied significantly, from 4.08 x 10(4) to 5.22 x 10(7) copies/mL, from 5.7% to 65.8%, respectively. Correlation analysis showed a strong positive relationship between chlorophyll-a, toxic Microcystis and total Microcystis; the abundance of toxic Microcystis correlated positively with total phosphorus and ortho-phosphate concentrations, but negatively with TN:TP ratio and nitrate concentrations. Meanwhile the proportion of potential toxic genotypes within Microcystis population showed positive correlation with total phosphorus and ortho-phosphate concentrations. Our data suggest that increased phosphorus loading may be a significant factor promoting the occurrence of toxic Microcystis bloom in Lake Taihu.

Interactions between bacteria and cyanobacteria have been suggested to have a potential to influence harmful algal bloom dynamics; however, little information on these interactions has been reported. In this study, the bacterial communities associated with five strains of Microcystis aeruginosa, three species of other Microcystis spp., and four representative species of non-Microcystis cyanobacteria were compared. Bacterial 16S rDNA fragments were amplified and separated by denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) followed by DNA sequence analysis. The similarities among bacterial communities associated with these cyanobacteria were compared to the digitized DGGE profiles using the cluster analyses. The bacterial community structure of all cyanobacterial cultures differed. Cluster analysis showed that the similarity values among M. aeruginosa cultures were higher than those of other cyanobacterial cultures. Sequence analysis of DGGE fragments indicated the presence of bacteria including, Alphaproteobacteria, Betaproteobacteria, Gammaproteobacteria, Bacteroidetes and Actinobacteria in the cyanobacterial cultures. Members of the Sphingomonadales were the prevalent group among the Microcystis-associated bacteria. The results provided further evidence for species-specific associations between cyanobacteria and heterotrophic bacteria, which are useful for understanding interactions between Microcystis and their associated bacteria.

In order to monitor the changes of Microcystis along with temporal and spatial variations, seasonal variation of Microcystis in Lake Taihu was investigated by 16S-23S rRNA internal transcribed spacer denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (16S-23S rRNA-ITS DGGE) and microscopic evaluation. Samples were collected quarterly at four sites (River Mouth, Meiliang Bay, Cross Area, and Lake Center) from August 2006 to April 2007. Results showed that Microcystis dominated total phytoplankton abundance at the four sites in all seasons except winter. The average annual abundance of Microcystis was relatively high at River Mouth and Meiliang Bay, reaching 81.22 x 10(6) and 61.32 x 10(6) cells/L, respectively. For temporal variations, Shannon-Wiener diversity index (H') according to DGGE profile revealed the richness of Microcystis in summer (H' = 1.375 +/- 0.034) and winter (H' = 1.650 +/- 0.032) was lower than that in spring (H' = 2.078 +/- 0.031) and autumn (H' = 2.365 +/- 0.032) (P <0.05). While for spatial variations, the richness of Microcystis at River Mouth (H' = 2.015 +/- 0.074) was higher than at other sites during four seasons (P < 0.01). Very few differences of Microcystis diversity in the same season were observed among the other three sites (P > 0.05). Canonical correspondence analysis (CCA) was performed to elucidate the relationships between Microcystis operational taxonomic units (OTUs) composition and the environmental factors. Results of CCA revealed that temperature was strongly positively correlated with the first axis (r = 0.963), while TSS was negative correlated with the second axis (r = -0.716). Phylogenetic tree based on the sequencing results of target bands on DGGE gel indicated that samples collected in summer and winter constituted two separated clusters.

This study was conducted to determine the role of algal-algal interactions in a multispecies microalgal population on their sensitivities to copper based on an enzyme inhibition assay using flow cytometric measures. Autofluorescence (chlorophyll a and phycocyanin) was used to identify species and count algal signals. The effect of multispecies population on copper toxicity of Microcystis aeruginousa was detected (1) at the same initial cell density, (2) at the same surface area, and (3) in the presence and absence of Chlorella pyrenoidosa and Scenedesmus obliquus. As copper concentrations increased, esterase activity of M. aeruginosa changed in a concentration-dependent manner. The 24 h EC(50) value of M. aeruginosa in the multispecies population was significantly (P < 0.05) higher than those in the single-species population. Compared with S. obliquus, the effect of C. pyrenoidosa on M. aeruginosa was more marked (the 24 h EC(50) value of copper on fluorescin diacetate fluorescence of M. aeruginosa was 11 microg/L). At 48 h copper exposure (6 microg/L) analysis of intracellular reactive oxygen species levels also showed similar algal-algal interactions in multispecies microalgal populations. The pigment assay suggested that these algal-algal interactions occurred only at low concentrations (< 13 microg/L, 24 and 48 h copper exposure). This study demonstrates the importance of using multispecies populations to estimate metal toxicity in natural waters.

To examine the possible information transfer by chemicals between zooplankton and algae, this paper studied the effects of Brachionus calyciflorus culture media filtrate on the colony formation and growth of Microcystis aeruginosa, Scenedesmus obliquus and Chlorella vulgaris. The results showed that the test filtrate could significantly promote the colony formation and population growth of S. obliquus, while no significant effect was observed on M. aeruginosa and C. vulgaris. The induced colony formation of S. obliquus increased its resistance to grazing, and thus, reduced the risk of its being grazed, which could be viewed as a kind of inducing defense. The accelerated growth of C. vulgaris and the toxin production of M. aeruginosa could also be interpreted as a defense mechanism against grazing. It maybe concluded that M. aeruginosa, S. obliquus and C. vulgaris could adopt different ecological strategies to resist the potential grazing by rotifer B. calyciflorus, and thus, to keep their population on a certain scale.

The patterns of spatial and temporal shifts in bloom-forming cyanobacteria and the driving factors for these patterns were determined by analyzing the distribution of these cyanobacteria in Lake Chaohu using data from satellite images and field samples collected during 2012 and 2013. The cyanobacterial blooms primarily occupied the western region of Lake Chaohu, and the direction and speed of the prevailing wind determined the spatial distribution of these blooms. The cyanobacteria in Lake Chaohu were dominated by species of M icrocystis and A nabaena. M icrocystis reached its peak in June, and Anabaena had peaks in May and November, with an overall biomass that was higher than that of M icrocystis. M icrocystis generally occupied the western region of the lake in summer, whereas Anabaena dominated in other regions and seasons. Temperature may be responsible for these seasonal shifts. However, total phosphorus ( TP), pH, temperature, turbidity and nitrate/nitrite nitrogen determined the coexistence of the two genera in different regions in summer. TP was correlated with M icrocystis dominance, and pH and light availability were correlated with A nabaena dominance. Our results contribute to the understanding of shifts in bloom-forming cyanobacteria and are important for the control of cyanobacterial blooms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, Microcystis aeruginosa was cultivated in a P-limited and P-replete culture medium and exposed to artificial UV-B radiation to investigate the interactive effect of UV-B exposure and phosphorus limitation on this harmful alga. After 15 days, both UV-B exposure and phosphorus limitation led to a significant decline in pigment content (phycocyanin and carotene) and photosynthetic activity ( F/ F and ETR), and the impact was most pronounced when the two conditions were combined. Due to the interactive effect, P-limited M. aeruginosa under UV-B exposure exhibited the lowest cell density compared to the other treatments. These results suggest that phosphorus limitation increases the stress of UV-B radiation in Microcystis. In other words, high-level UV-B radiation has higher growth inhibitory on Microcystis in P-limited lakes than in P-replete lakes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The diversity of buoyant Microcystis colony-associated, settling particle-associated and free-living freshwater bacteria in the eutrophic Lake Taihu in China was compared by the polymerase chain reaction-denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis ( PCR-DGGE) of 16S rRNA genes and by clone library analysis. The cluster analysis of DGGE profiles revealed that the buoyant Microcystis colony associates collected in summer and winter were clustered together and were distinct from settling particle-associated and free-living bacteria. In contrast, the bacterial communities of the latter two populations collected in summer were clustered together and varied from those collected in winter. The diversity indices of the Microcystis-associated bacterial population were significantly lower than those of the other two bulk bacterial communities ( P < 0.05). Clone library analysis revealed that no shared operational taxonomic units were found in the three populations. Phylogenetic analysis confirmed that buoyant Microcystis-associated bacteria were distinct from the other communities and that they were dominated by Alphaproteobacteria, Betaproteobacteria and Gammaproteobacteria. Proteobacteria, Bacteroidetes and Actinobacteria were prevalent in all three habitats. Other bacterial taxa such as Planctomycetes, Verrucomicrobia, Gemmatimonadetes and Acidobacteria were associated with settling particles and with the water column. Buoyant Microcystis colonies, settling particles and the water column in the eutrophic lake are thus inhabited by different bacterial flora. In addition, specific bacterial communities are associated with buoyant Microcystis colonies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The structure and composition of the bacterial community associated with buoyant Microcystis colonies were monitored during the decline of a cyanobacterial bloom (from October 13, 2009 to January 27, 2010). When temperature decreased, the ratio between the colony-associated bacteria and the Microcystis gradually decreased as estimated by a quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR)-based approach. Diversity of bacterial communities was determined through denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) of 16S rRNA gene fragments. Cluster analysis of the DGGE profiles showed that most of the bacterial communities associated with Microcystis colonies collected on the nearby dates were clustered together. The bacterial clones from four clone libraries in different months were classified into 5, 12, 6 and 12 operational taxonomic units, most of which were affiliated with Gammaproteobacteria, Alphaproteobacteria and Bacteroidetes. Shift in dominance from pathogenic Aeromonas sp. to Shewanella sp. capable of remineralization of many organic materials was observed, and both species seemed to be associated with Microcystis colonies along with the bloom decline. These results indicated that the potential harmful effects of the Microcystis bloom on the safety of lake water during the decline period should be taken into account. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Abstract: The horizontal distribution of bloom-forming Microcystis in a specific lake area and the transport of Microcystis by wind-driven lake currents between Meiliang Bay and the open water of Taihu Lake were measured during continuous field observations from August 21 to 25, 2006. During the observations, the horizontal distributions of Microcystis, represented by Chlorophyll a, showed a clear concentration toward downwind lake areas. According to the lake currents and the Chl a concentrations on the boundary line between the Meiliang Bay and the open water, the transported Chl a was less than 2% of the total weight of Chl a in Meiliang Bay on August 22, 24 and 25. The results suggest that the horizontal distribution of the bloom-forming Microcystis was strongly affected by the wind conditions, and the wind-driven Microcystis accumulation was mainly determined by surface drift; the transport of Microcystis by lake currents was much less important in this large, shallow lake. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]