Genetic variability of the invasive cyanobacteria Cylindrospermopsis raciborskii from Bir M'cherga reservoir (Tunisia)

• Type: Article in International Scientific Journal
• Date: 2011

Authors

Afef Fathalli (Author) Other; Amel Ben Rejeb Jenhani (Author) Other; Cristiana Moreira (Author) Other; Joana Azevedo (Author) Other; Martin Welker (Author) Other; Mohamed Romdhane (Author) Other; Agostinho Antunes (Author) FCUP; Vitor Vasconcelos (Author) FCUP

Journal

Title: Archives of Microbiology

Vol. 193

Pages: 595-604

ISSN: 0302-8933

Publisher: Springer Nature

Indexing

ISI Web of Knowledge - 19 Citations

Scopus - 20 Citations

Scientific classification

FOS: Natural sciences > Biological sciences

Other information

Authenticus ID: P-002-PCH

DOI: 10.1007/s00203-011-0704-y

Abstract (EN): Cylindrospermopsis raciborskii is an invasive freshwater cyanobacteria of tropical origin, also found in temperate regions. Due to its known ability to produce potent toxins, such as cylindrospermopsin and the paralytic shellfish poisoning, this species is of major concern from a water quality perspective. This study presents a genetic characterization of four C. raciborskii strains isolated from the Bir M'cherga Tunisian reservoir. The toxicity assessment was investigated via molecular biology tools, which suggested that all the isolated strains were not producing cylindrospermopsin, saxitoxin, or microcystin. This result was further confirmed by HPLC and MALDI-TOF analyses. However, we report for the first time in C. raciborskii the presence of mcyA and mcyE, two segments of the microcystin synthetase mcy cluster. All the strains were identified taxonomically based on the 16S rRNA sequences, and their phylogenetic relationships were assessed using the rpoC1 region. Tunisian strains formed a distinct clade separated from the other African strains.

Language: English

Type (Professor's evaluation): Scientific

No. of pages: 10