Microbial diversity, genomics, and phage-host interactions of cyanobacterial harmful algal blooms
- PMID: 38856205
- PMCID: PMC11265339
- DOI: 10.1128/msystems.00709-23
Microbial diversity, genomics, and phage-host interactions of cyanobacterial harmful algal blooms
Abstract
The occurrence of cyanobacterial harmful algal blooms (cyanoHABs) is related to their physical and chemical environment. However, less is known about their associated microbial interactions and processes. In this study, cyanoHABs were analyzed as a microbial ecosystem, using 1 year of 16S rRNA sequencing and 70 metagenomes collected during the bloom season from Lake Okeechobee (Florida, USA). Biogeographical patterns observed in microbial community composition and function reflected ecological zones distinct in their physical and chemical parameters that resulted in bloom "hotspots" near major lake inflows. Changes in relative abundances of taxa within multiple phyla followed increasing bloom severity. Functional pathways that correlated with increasing bloom severity encoded organic nitrogen and phosphorus utilization, storage of nutrients, exchange of genetic material, phage defense, and protection against oxidative stress, suggesting that microbial interactions may promote cyanoHAB resilience. Cyanobacterial communities were highly diverse, with picocyanobacteria ubiquitous and oftentimes most abundant, especially in the absence of blooms. The identification of novel bloom-forming cyanobacteria and genomic comparisons indicated a functionally diverse cyanobacterial community with differences in its capability to store nitrogen using cyanophycin and to defend against phage using CRISPR and restriction-modification systems. Considering blooms in the context of a microbial ecosystem and their interactions in nature, physiologies and interactions supporting the proliferation and stability of cyanoHABs are proposed, including a role for phage infection of picocyanobacteria. This study displayed the power of "-omics" to reveal important biological processes that could support the effective management and prediction of cyanoHABs.
Importance: Cyanobacterial harmful algal blooms pose a significant threat to aquatic ecosystems and human health. Although physical and chemical conditions in aquatic systems that facilitate bloom development are well studied, there are fundamental gaps in the biological understanding of the microbial ecosystem that makes a cyanobacterial bloom. High-throughput sequencing was used to determine the drivers of cyanobacteria blooms in nature. Multiple functions and interactions important to consider in cyanobacterial bloom ecology were identified. The microbial biodiversity of blooms revealed microbial functions, genomic characteristics, and interactions between cyanobacterial populations that could be involved in bloom stability and more coherently define cyanobacteria blooms. Our results highlight the importance of considering cyanobacterial blooms as a microbial ecosystem to predict, prevent, and mitigate them.
Keywords: Lake Okeechobee; blooms; cyanobacteria; metagenomics; microbial biodiversity; microbial interactions.
Conflict of interest statement
The authors declare no conflict of interest.
Figures
Similar articles
-
Responses of cyanobacterial aggregate microbial communities to algal blooms.Water Res. 2021 May 15;196:117014. doi: 10.1016/j.watres.2021.117014. Epub 2021 Mar 7. Water Res. 2021. PMID: 33751971
-
Microbial Community Response to Granular Peroxide-Based Algaecide Treatment of a Cyanobacterial Harmful Algal Bloom in Lake Okeechobee, Florida (USA).Toxins (Basel). 2024 Apr 26;16(5):206. doi: 10.3390/toxins16050206. Toxins (Basel). 2024. PMID: 38787058 Free PMC article.
-
Cyanopeptides restriction and degradation co-mediate microbiota assembly during a freshwater cyanobacterial harmful algal bloom (CyanoHAB).Water Res. 2022 Jul 15;220:118674. doi: 10.1016/j.watres.2022.118674. Epub 2022 May 25. Water Res. 2022. PMID: 35661508
-
Cyanophage technology in removal of cyanobacteria mediated harmful algal blooms: A novel and eco-friendly method.Chemosphere. 2023 Feb;315:137769. doi: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2023.137769. Epub 2023 Jan 6. Chemosphere. 2023. PMID: 36623591 Review.
-
Insights into cyanobacterial blooms through the lens of omics.Sci Total Environ. 2024 Jul 15;934:173028. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.173028. Epub 2024 May 7. Sci Total Environ. 2024. PMID: 38723963 Review.
References
-
- Sanseverino I, Conduto D, Pozzoli L, Dobricic S, Lettieri T. 2016. Algal bloom and its economic impact. European Commission, Joint Research Centre Institute for Environment and Sustainability
-
- Paerl HW, Scott JT, McCarthy MJ, Newell SE, Gardner WS, Havens KE, Hoffman DK, Wilhelm SW, Wurtsbaugh WA. 2016. It takes two to tango: when and where dual nutrient (N & P) reductions are needed to protect lakes and downstream ecosystems. Environ Sci Technol 50:10805–10813. doi:10.1021/acs.est.6b02575 - DOI - PubMed
MeSH terms
Substances
Grants and funding
LinkOut - more resources
Full Text Sources