Search results for "CYANOBACTERIA"

Comparison of biocides, allelopathic substances and UV-C as treatments for biofilm proliferation on heritage monuments

2018

Abstract UV-C and biocide treatments are frequently used to treat historical monuments contaminated by autotrophic biofilms. In this study, the authors compare for the first time the efficacy of these treatments against microorganisms such as cyanobacteria and algae proliferating in the Vicherey church (Vicherey, Vosges Department, France). To identify the most environmentally friendly and also efficient method, an allelopathic treatment was also tested. Colorimetric and physiological measurements of treated biofilms were thus monitored for 6 months. Fungi growing on necrotic matter from treated biofilms were sampled and sequenced. With biocides, results showed incomplete eradication of bio…

Highly effective, regiospecific reduction of chalcone by cyanobacteria leads to the formation of dihydrochalcone: two steps towards natural sweetness

2017

Abstract Background Chalcones are the biogenetic precursors of all known flavonoids, which play an essential role in various metabolic processes in photosynthesizing organisms. The use of whole cyanobacteria cells in a two-step, light-catalysed regioselective bio-reduction of chalcone, leading to the formation of the corresponding dihydrochalcone, is reported. The prokaryotic microalgae cyanobacteria are known to produce phenolic compounds, including flavonoids, as natural components of cells. It seems logical that organisms producing such compounds possess a suitable “enzymatic apparatus” to carry out their biotransformation. Therefore, determination of the ability of whole cells of select…

2017

Abstract. Endolithic microbial communities are prominent features of intertidal marine habitats, where they colonize a variety of substrates, contributing to their erosion. Almost 2 centuries worth of naturalistic studies focused on a few true-boring (euendolithic) phototrophs, but substrate preference has received little attention. The Isla de Mona (Puerto Rico) intertidal zone offers a unique setting to investigate substrate specificity of endolithic communities since various phosphate rock, limestone and dolostone outcrops occur there. High-throughput 16S rDNA genetic sampling, enhanced by targeted cultivation, revealed that, while euendolithic cyanobacteria were dominant operational tax…

Biofilm biodiversity in French and Swiss show caves using the metabarcoding approach: First data.

2018

International audience; In recent decades, show caves have begun to suffer from microorganism proliferation due to artificial lighting installations for touristic activity. In addition to the aesthetic problem, light encourages microorganisms that are responsible for physical and chemical degradation of limestone walls, speleothems and prehistoric paintings of cultural value. Microorganisms have previously been described by microscopy or culture-dependent methods, but data provided by new generation sequencing are rare. The authors identified, for the first time, microorganisms proliferating in one Swiss and in four French show caves using three different primers. The results showed that bo…

Production of High Amounts of Hepatotoxin Nodularin and New Protease Inhibitors Pseudospumigins by the Brazilian Benthic Nostoc sp. CENA543

2017

Nostoc is a cyanobacterial genus, common in soils and a prolific producer of natural products. This research project aimed to explore and characterize Brazilian cyanobacteria for new bioactive compounds. Here we report the production of hepatotoxins and new protease inhibitors from benthic Nostoc sp. CENA543 isolated from a small, shallow, saline-alkaline lake in the Nhecolandia, Pantanal wetland area in Brazil. Nostoc sp. CENA543 produces exceptionally high amounts of nodularin-R. This is the first free-living Nostoc that produces nodularin at comparable levels as the toxic, bloom-forming, Nodularia spumigena. We also characterized pseudospumigins A-F, which are a novel family of linear te…

Fresh water, marine and terrestrial cyanobacteria display distinct allergen characteristics.

2017

During the last decades, global cyanobacteria biomass increased due to climate change as well as industrial usage for production of biofuels and food supplements. Thus, there is a need for thorough characterization of their potential health risks, including allergenicity. We therefore aimed to identify and characterize similarities in allergenic potential of cyanobacteria originating from the major ecological environments. Different cyanobacterial taxa were tested for immunoreactivity with IgE from allergic donors and non-allergic controls using immunoblot and ELISA. Moreover, mediator release from human FceR1-transfected rat basophilic leukemia (RBL) cells was measured, allowing in situ ex…

Glyphosate dose modulates the uptake of inorganic phosphate by freshwater cyanobacteria

2017

The usefulness of glyphosate [N-(phosphonomethyl)glycine] as a source of nutritive phosphorus for species of halophilic cyanobacteria has been postulated for years. Our results indicate a stimulating effect of glyphosate on the growth of four out of five examined freshwater species, Anabaena variabilis (CCALA 007), Chroococcus minutus (CCALA 055), Fischerella cf. maior (CCALA 067) and Nostoc cf. muscorum (CCALA 129), in a manner dependent on the applied concentration. The most significant stimulation was observed at a dose of 0.1 mM glyphosate. The decrease in the amount of phosphonate, which correlated with microbial growth, demonstrated that glyphosate may play an important role in cyanob…

2018

Dynamin-like proteins (DLPs) are a family of membrane-active proteins with low sequence identity. The proteins operate in different organelles in eukaryotic cells, where they trigger vesicle formation, membrane fusion, or organelle division. As discussed here, representatives of this protein family have also been identified in chloroplasts and DLPs are very common in cyanobacteria. Since cyanobacteria and chloroplasts, an organelle of bacterial origin, have similar internal membrane systems, we suggest that DLPs are involved in membrane dynamics in cyanobacteria and chloroplasts. Here, we discuss the features and activities of DLPs with a focus on their potential presence and activity in ch…

Biocatalytic hydrogenation of the C=C bond in the enone unit of hydroxylated chalcones-process arising from cyanobacterial adaptations.

2018

To verify the hypothesis that cyanobacteria naturally biosynthesising polyphenolic compounds possess an active enzymatic system that enables them to transform these substances, such an ability of the biocatalytic systems of whole cells of these biota was assessed for the first time. One halophilic strain and seven freshwater strains of cyanobacteria representing four of the five taxonomic orders of Cyanophyta were examined to determine the following: (i) whether they contain polyphenols, including flavonoids; (ii) the resistance of their cultures when suppressed by the presence of exogenous hydroxychalcones—precursors of flavonoid biosynthesis and (iii) whether these photoautotrophs can tra…

Biodegradation of the aminopolyphosphonate DTPMP by the cyanobacteriumAnabaena variabilisproceeds via a C-P lyase-independent pathway

2017

Cyanobacteria, the only prokaryotes capable of oxygenic photosynthesis, play a major role in carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus global cycling. Under conditions of increased P availability and nutrient loading, some cyanobacteria are capable of blooming, rapidly multiplying and possibly altering the ecological structure of the ecosystem. Because of their ability of using non-conventional P sources, these microalgae can be used for bioremediation purposes. Under this perspective, the metabolization of the polyphosphonate diethylenetriaminepenta(methylenephosphonic) acid (DTPMP) by the strain CCALA 007 of Anabaena variabilis was investigated using 31 P NMR analysis. Results showed a quantitative…