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Growth inhibition and possible mechanism of oleamide against the toxin-producing cyanobacterium Microcystis aeruginosa NIES-843

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Abstract

Oleamide, a fatty acid derivative, shows inhibitory effect against the bloom-forming cyanobacterium Microcystis aeruginosa. The EC50 of oleamide on the growth of M. aeruginosa NIES-843 was 8.60 ± 1.20 mg/L. In order to elucidate the possible mechanism of toxicity of oleamide against M. aeruginosa, chlorophyll fluorescence transient, cellular ultrastructure, fatty acids composition and the transcription of the mcyB gene involved in microcystins synthesis were studied. The results of chlorophyll fluorescence transient showed that oleamide could destruct the electron accepting side of the photosystem II of M. aeruginosa NIES-843. Cellular ultrastructure examination indicated that the destruction of fatty acid constituents, the distortion of thylakoid membrane and the loss of integrity of cell membrane were associated with oleamide treatment and concentration. The damage of cellular membrane increased the release of microcystins from intact cells into the medium. Results presented in this study provide new information on the possible mechanisms involved and potential utilization of oleamide as an algicide in cyanobacterial bloom control.

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Acknowledgments

The research was supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 31,470,511).

Conflict of interest

Authors have no conflict of interest on the research results reported here. This article does not contain any studies with human participants or animals performed by any of the authors.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Resources and Environment, Hunan Agricultural University, Changsha, 410128, People’s Republic of China

    Jihai Shao, Yaxian He, Fan Li, Huiling Zhang, Anwei Chen, Si Luo & Ji-Dong Gu

  2. Hunan Provincial Key Laboratory of Farmland Pollution Control and Agricultural Resources Use, Hunan Agricultural University, Changsha, 410128, People’s Republic of China

    Ji-Dong Gu

  3. Laboratory of Environmental Microbiology and Toxicology, School of Biological Sciences, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam Road, Hong Kong SAR, People’s Republic of China

    Ji-Dong Gu

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  1. Jihai Shao
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  2. Yaxian He
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  6. Si Luo
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Correspondence to Ji-Dong Gu.

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Shao, J., He, Y., Li, F. et al. Growth inhibition and possible mechanism of oleamide against the toxin-producing cyanobacterium Microcystis aeruginosa NIES-843. Ecotoxicology 25, 225–233 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10646-015-1582-x

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