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Isolation of viable cell mass from frozen Microcystis viridis bloom containing microcystin-RR

  • PHYTOPLANKTON
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Abstract

Cyanobacterial species commonly occur in the phytoplankton of freshwater lakes and sometimes develop as toxin-producing blooms. Microcystis is one of the most common genera of freshwater cyanobacteria and is often the dominating phytoplankton of eutrophic lakes all over the world. In eutrophic lakes, large amounts of Microcystis may overwinter in the sediment and re-inoculate the water column in spring. In most cases, the overwintering pelagic population—if it exists—is small, and its role in re-inoculation has not been clear yet. In December 2005, we found large amounts of Microcystis on the surface, frozen in the ice cover in a eutrophic pond (Pond Hármashegy, Hungary). We identified the Microcystis species and investigated the viability and the toxicity of the frozen cells. The dominant species in the bloom samples was Microcystis viridis. Viability tests showed that the colonies isolated from the ice cover were composed of living cells. The isolated strain was found toxic, we analyzed the microcystin composition in the frozen planktonic Microcystis mass; in the investigated samples microcystin-RR was the main cyanotoxin.

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Acknowledgments

This article was presented as a poster at the Bat Sheva de Rothschild seminar on Phytoplankton in the Physical Environment—the 15th workshop of the International Association of phytoplankton taxonomy and ecology (IAP). Taking part at the workshop was supported by the University of Debrecen, Department of Hydrobiology. The work has been supported by Hungarian National Research Foundation Grants OTKA F046493, GVOP-3.2.1.-2004-04-0110/3.0.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Botany, Faculty of Sciences and Technology, University of Debrecen, Egyetem tér 1, 4032, Debrecen, Hungary

    Gábor Vasas, Gyula Surányi, Márta Mikóné Hamvas, Csaba Máthé & György Borbély

  2. Department of Hydrobiology, Faculty of Sciences and Technology, University of Debrecen, Egyetem tér 1, 4032, Debrecen, Hungary

    Sándor Alex Nagy

  3. CETOX Analytical and Toxicological, Researching and Consulting Ltd, Egyetem tér 1, 4032, Debrecen, Hungary

    István Bácsi

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  1. Gábor Vasas
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  2. István Bácsi
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  3. Gyula Surányi
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  4. Márta Mikóné Hamvas
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  5. Csaba Máthé
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  6. Sándor Alex Nagy
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  7. György Borbély
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Correspondence to Gábor Vasas.

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Guest editors: T. Zohary, J. Padisák & L. Naselli-Flores / Phytoplankton in the Physical Environment: Papers from the 15th Workshop of the International Association for Phytoplankton Taxonomy and Ecology (IAP), held at the Ramot Holiday Resort on the Golan Heights, Israel, 23–30 November 2008

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Vasas, G., Bácsi, I., Surányi, G. et al. Isolation of viable cell mass from frozen Microcystis viridis bloom containing microcystin-RR. Hydrobiologia 639, 147–151 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10750-009-0025-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10750-009-0025-1

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