Light and Nutrient Effects on the Relative Biomass of Blue-Green Algae in Lake Phytoplankton

1986 ◽  
Vol 43 (1) ◽  
pp. 148-153 ◽  
Author(s):  
Val H. Smith

The factors determining the relative biomass of blue-green algae during the growing season were studied using data from 22 lakes worldwide. Multiple linear regression analyses suggest that total nitrogen (TN), total phosphorus (TP), and light (as estimated from Secchi disc transparency and the depth of the mixed layer) interact to determine the relative biomass of planktonic blue-green algae. At a fixed TN: TP ratio, blue-green relative biomass increases as light availability decreases. At a fixed light level, blue-green relative biomass also increases as the TN: TP ratio decreases. Both effects are consistent with current knowledge of algal physiology, and with a recently proposed theoretical framework for algal community structure.

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (5) ◽  
pp. 543-571
Author(s):  
Ritu Chauhan ◽  
◽  
Abhishek Chauhan ◽  
Ashutosh Tripathi ◽  
Anuj Ranjan ◽  
...  

COVID-19 pandemic has taught the world researchers the urgent need for new sources and novel pharmaceuticals not only for existing diseases but also for both seasonal epidemics and future pandemics. Pharmaceutical drug discoveries for the past fifty years depended deeply on the procedure of empirical transmission of a huge number of pure bioactive compounds to provide new leads. The screening of extracts or isolating compounds is a common way to discover novel biologically active molecules. Most of the valuable Blue-Green algal metabolites are concentrated in their biomass. For existence in nature, Blue-Green algae (BGA) secrete and contain various organic substances like proteins, fatty acids, vitamins, pigments, primary and secondary metabolites, and these compounds are explored for potential biological activities such as antibacterial, antifungal, antiviral (including the anti-SARS-CoV-2 virus that causes COVID-19), anticancer, antioxidant, antidiabetic, protease inhibitory activity, anti-inflammatory activity, etc. Due to their diverse application, pharmaceutical companies have shown commercial interest in the Blue-green algal group for the discovery and development of novel molecules to combat deadly diseases for the benefit of society and mankind. The current review paper highlights and discusses the diverse pharmaceutical potential of laboratory-grown cultures of BGA along with comprehensive and current knowledge on bioactive compounds discovered by researchers globally.


2000 ◽  
Vol 35 (3) ◽  
pp. 489-504 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel D. Olding

Abstract An investigation into phytoplankton and periphyton algal communities of two recently constructed Stormwater management ponds suggests that Stormwater impacts on biological communities are reduced during passage through the ponds, providing a degree of protection for biological communities in their receiving waters. In both ponds, disturbance effects from the incoming Stormwater on algal community richness and evenness appear to be greatest in the sediment forebay and are reduced in the main pond. However, the nature of the disturbance in the two systems can be seen to be fundamentally different from a biological perspective, with Rouge Pond functioning primarily to reduce toxins harmful to algal communities (e.g., heavy metals), and Harding Pond acting to reduce nutrients. The taxonomic composition of the two sites provides an indication of the quality of the incoming Stormwater. Rouge Pond, which contains many marine and brackish water species, receives Stormwater runoff from a major highway, while Harding Pond, containing more nutrient rich species, receives Stormwater primarily from residential properties. Despite the nutrient-rich conditions present in both ponds, nuisance blue-green algae (cyanobacte-ria) are conspicuously absent, and the ponds appear to have little potential for developing harmful algal blooms. The lack of blue-green algae can be linked to the hydraulic functioning of the ponds, suggesting that Stormwater facilities may be engineered to inhibit undesirable algal communities.


2009 ◽  
Vol 4 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
MD Burch ◽  
G. Newcombe ◽  
L. Ho

This paper introduces a practical guide developed for use by the water industry for the management of toxic cyanobacteria. The guide entitled ‘Management Strategies for Cyanobacteria (Blue-Green Algae) and their Toxins: A Guide for Water Utilities’ (Ho et al., 2009) is a comprehensive guide/manual, which summarises current knowledge on the management of blue-green algae (cyanobacteria) and their toxins. The manual covers management strategies for source waters and all stages of the water treatment process. This guide is a consolidated collection of both practical experience and research knowledge developed over the last 20 years within the Australian and international water industry.


2011 ◽  
Vol 63 (6) ◽  
pp. 1203-1210 ◽  
Author(s):  
Asha U. M. Lokuhewage ◽  
T. Fujino

Spectral absorption method based on two step linear regression analyses (TSLR) was applied for detection of two strains of cyanobacterium, Microcystis (blue-green algae) from eukaryotic algae. Both blue-green algae, algae and dissolved organic carbon (DOC) were considered from freshwater bodies in Kanto region, Japan. The results show that blue-green species can be detected from other algal species using absorption spectra of water samples. In this study statistical analysis was done by TSLR method, which determined the gradient vectors of single algal species and DOC. We believe that this method might be useful in environmental monitoring of freshwater algae.


1969 ◽  
Vol 172 (1029) ◽  
pp. 339-355 ◽  

A discussion of progress in the biochemistry of nitrogen fixation is simplified by the thorough reviews which have been given by Professor P. W. Wilson and Professor J. Chatt. Professor Wilson has outlined the history of the subject and has indicated that a great deal of our current knowledge actually was established by the use of intact organisms. Detailed studies of the enzymology of the process were limited by the necessity for using whole cells, but with intact cells the specific inhibitors of nitrogen fixation, the role of ammonia as the key intermediate in nitrogen fixation, the involvement of molecular hydrogen, the physical constants characteristic of nitrogen fixation, the enhancement of the hydrogen exchange reaction by molecular nitrogen, and the demonstration that nitrous oxide can serve as an alternative substrate to N 2 all had been established. Little was known about the electron donors in nitrogen fixation, the role of ATP in the process had not been shown, and nothing was known about the composition of the nitrogen fixing enzymes although it was assumed that they contained iron and molybdenum. It was of obvious importance to obtain an active preparation which could fix nitrogen in the absence of intact cells. Much work was directed to this end and instances of positive nitrogen fixation were reported in the literature (Burris 1966). However, the fixation obtained was not very helpful for mechanism studies, because it was inconsistent and poorly controlled. In late 1959 we obtained consistent fixation with cell-free extracts from the blue–green algae (Schneider et al 1960), and at approximately the same time Carnahan, Mortenson, Mower & Castle (1960 a ) obtained good cell-free fixation with extracts from Clostridium pasteurianum . Their preparation was considerably more active and convenient than ours, and so most work with cell-free preparations from blue-green algae was abandoned in favour of work with the anaerobic bacteria. Their process of drying the cells on a rotary vacuum evaporator and supplying very high concentrations of pyruvate as the substrate were critical for achieving active fixation.


Author(s):  
L. V. Leak

Electron microscopic observations of freeze-fracture replicas of Anabaena cells obtained by the procedures described by Bullivant and Ames (J. Cell Biol., 1966) indicate that the frozen cells are fractured in many different planes. This fracturing or cleaving along various planes allows one to gain a three dimensional relation of the cellular components as a result of such a manipulation. When replicas that are obtained by the freeze-fracture method are observed in the electron microscope, cross fractures of the cell wall and membranes that comprise the photosynthetic lamellae are apparent as demonstrated in Figures 1 & 2.A large portion of the Anabaena cell is composed of undulating layers of cytoplasm that are bounded by unit membranes that comprise the photosynthetic membranes. The adjoining layers of cytoplasm are closely apposed to each other to form the photosynthetic lamellae. Occassionally the adjacent layers of cytoplasm are separated by an interspace that may vary in widths of up to several 100 mu to form intralamellar vesicles.


2017 ◽  
Vol 40 (1) ◽  
pp. 47-62 ◽  
Author(s):  
I. M. Chung ◽  
S. H. Kim ◽  
Y.T. Oh ◽  
M. Ali ◽  
A. Ahmad

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