Molecular screening for cyanobacteria and their cyanotoxin potential in diverse habitats

Jablonska, Maša (author), Eleršek, Tina (author), Kogovšek, Polona (author), Skok, Sara (author), Oarga-Mulec, Andreea (author), Mulec, Janez (author)

Cyanobacteria are adaptable and dominant organisms that exist in many harsh and extreme environments due to their great ecological tolerance. They produce various secondary metabolites, including cyanotoxins. While cyanobacteria are well studied in surface waters and some aerial habitats, numerous other habitats and niches remain underexplored. We collected 61 samples of: (i) biofilms from springs, (ii) aerial microbial mats from buildings and subaerial mats from caves, and (iii) water from borehole wells, caves, alkaline, saline, sulphidic, thermal, and iron springs, rivers, seas, and melted cave ice from five countries (Croatia, Georgia, Italy, Serbia, and Slovenia). We used (q)PCR to detect cyanobacteria (phycocyanin intergenic spacer—PC-IGS and cyanobacteria-specific 16S rRNA gene) and cyanotoxin genes (microcystins—mcyE, saxitoxins—sxtA, cylindrospermopsins—cyrJ), as well as amplicon sequencing and morphological observations for taxonomic identification. Cyanobacteria were detected in samples from caves, a saline spring, and an alkaline spring. While mcyE or sxtA genes were not observed in any sample, cyrJ results showed the presence of a potential cylindrospermopsin producer in a biofilm from a sulphidic spring in Slovenia. This study contributes to our understanding of cyanobacteria occurrence in diverse habitats, including rare and extreme ones, and provides relevant methodological considerations for future research in such environments.

• Language: English
• Keywords: extreme environments, cylindrospermopsin, sulphidic springs, caves, qPCR, PC-IGS
• Work type: Article
• Typology: 1.01 - Original Scientific Article
• Organization: BF - Biotechnical Faculty
• Publication status: Published
• Publication version: Version of Record
• Year: 2024
• Number of pages: 20 str.
• Numbering: Vol. 16, iss. 8, art. 333
• PID: 20.500.12556/RUL-166781
• UDC: 577
• ISSN on article: 2072-6651
• DOI: 10.3390/toxins16080333
• COBISS.SI-ID: 203590659
• Publication date in RUL: 24.01.2025

Record is a part of a journal

• Title: Toxins : Elektronski vir
• Shortened title: Toxins
• Publisher: MDPI
• ISSN: 2072-6651
• COBISS.SI-ID: 517594649

Licences

• License: CC BY 4.0, Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International
• Link: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
• Description: This is the standard Creative Commons license that gives others maximum freedom to do what they want with the work as long as they credit the author.