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Production of exopolymers (EPS) by cyanobacteria: impact on the carbon-to-nutrient ratio of the particulate organic matter

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Abstract

Freshwater cyanobacteria can produce large amount of mucilage, particularly during large blooms. The production of these carbon-rich exopolymers (EPS) should influence the carbon-to-nutrient ratios of the organic matter (OM), which are regularly used as a proxy for the herbivorous food quality. However, little is known about the consequences of EPS production on the carbon-to-nutrient ratio of the OM. Two EPS forms can be distinguished: the free fraction composed of soluble extracellular polymeric substances (S-EPS) and the particulate fraction corresponding to the transparent exopolymer particles (TEP). The aim of the study was to determine whether the TEP and S-EPS productions by cyanobacteria influence the carbon-to-nutrient ratios of the particulate OM (POM). Five cyanobacteria species were grown in batch culture and characterized in terms of photosynthetic activity, EPS production, and C, N, P contents. The variability in EPS production was compared with the variability in stoichiometry of the POM. Most of cyanobacteria live in association with heterotrophic bacteria (HB) within the mucilage. The effect of the presence/absence of HB on EPS production and the carbon-to-nutrient ratios of the POM was also characterized for the cyanobacteria Microcystis aeruginosa. We showed that TEP production increased the carbon-to-nutrient ratios of the POM in the absence of HB, while the stoichiometry did not significantly change when HB were present. The C:N ratio of the POM decreased with production of S-EPS by the five species. Lastly, the three colonial species (Chroococcales) tend to produce more TEP than the two filamentous species (Oscillatoriales), with the two picocyanobacteria being the most productive of both TEP and S-EPS.

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Acknowledgments

This research was funded by a grant from CNRS-UMR 6553 Ecobio and research funds from the University of Rennes (‘Action incitative, Projets scientifiques émergents 2011’) and from the french INSU-EC2CO program (‘Microflux’ 2012). We thank Nathalie Josselin-Le Bris and Marie-Paule Briand for laboratory assistance. Bio-chemical analysis, microscopy and experimental chambers were supported by the common technical centers from the UMR Ecobio: the Analysis Biogeochemical center (ABGC), the optical and digital imaging center (COIN) and the Ecology experimental center (ECOLEX). We thank the two anonymous referees for helpful comments on an earlier version of the manuscript.

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  1. CNRS-UMR 6553 Ecobio, OSUR, University of Rennes 1, Campus de Beaulieu, bâtiment 14b, Av. General Leclerc, 35 042, Rennes, France

    Alexandrine Pannard, Julie Pédrono, Myriam Bormans, Enora Briand & Yvan Lagadeuc

  2. BOREA, Université de Caen Basse-Normandie, 14032, Caen, France

    Pascal Claquin

  3. BOREA CNRS 7208, IRD-207, MNHN, UPMC, UCBN, 14032, Caen, France

    Pascal Claquin

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  1. Alexandrine Pannard
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Pannard, A., Pédrono, J., Bormans, M. et al. Production of exopolymers (EPS) by cyanobacteria: impact on the carbon-to-nutrient ratio of the particulate organic matter. Aquat Ecol 50, 29–44 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10452-015-9550-3

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