Differential Effect of Hydroxen Peroxide οn Toxic Cyanobacteria of Hypertrophic Mediterranean Waterbodies

Cyanobacterial blooms have been known since ancient times; however, they are currently increasing globally. Human and ecological health risks posed by harmful cyanobacterial blooms have been recorded around the world. These risks are mainly associated with their ability to affect the ecosystem chain by different mechanisms like the production of cyanotoxins, especially microcystins. Their expansion and their harmful effects have led many researchers to seek techniques and strategies to control them. Among them, hydrogen peroxide could be a promising tool against cyanobacteria and cyanotoxins and it is well-established as an environmentally friendly oxidizing agent because of its rapid decomposition into oxygen and water. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the effect of hydrogen peroxide on phytoplankton from two hypertrophic waterbodies in Greece. The effect of hydrogen peroxide on concentration of microcystins found in the waterbodies was also studied. Treatment with 4 mg/L hydrogen peroxide was applied to water samples originated from the waterbodies and Cyanobacterial composition and biomass, phycocyanin, chlorophyll-a, and intra-cellular and total microcystin concentrations were studied. Cyanobacterial biomass and phycocyanin was reduced significantly after the application of 4 mg/L hydrogen peroxide in water treatment experiments while chlorophytes and extra-cellular microcystin concentrations were increased. Raphidiopsis (Cylindrospermopsis) raciborskii was the most affected cyanobacterial species after treatment of the water of the Karla Reservoir in comparison to Aphanizomenon favaloroi, Planktolyngbya limnetica, and Chroococcus sp. Furthermore, Microcystis aeruginosa was more resistant to the treatment of Pamvotis lake water in comparison with Microcystis wesenbergii and Microcystis panniformis. Our study showed that hydrogen peroxide differentially impacts the members of the phytoplankton community, affecting, thus, its overall efficacy. Different effects of hydrogen peroxide treatment were observed among cyanobacerial genera as well as among cyanobacterial species of the same genus. Different effects could be the result of the different resistance mechanisms of each genus or species to hydrogen peroxide. Hydrogen peroxide could be used as a treatment for the mitigation of cyanobacterial blooms in a waterbody; however, the biotic and abiotic characteristics of the waterbody should be considered.

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Resilience of Microbial Communities after Hydrogen Peroxide Treatment of a Eutrophic Lake to Suppress Harmful Cyanobacterial Blooms

Microorganisms ◽

10.3390/microorganisms9071495 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 9 (7) ◽

pp. 1495

Author(s):

Tim Piel ◽

Giovanni Sandrini ◽

Gerard Muyzer ◽

Corina P. D. Brussaard ◽

Pieter C. Slot ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Hydrogen Peroxide ◽

Microbial Community ◽

Microbial Communities ◽

Microbial Community Composition ◽

Glycoside Hydrolases ◽

Microbial Community Analysis ◽

Cyanobacterial Blooms ◽

Temporary Increase ◽

Low Concentrations ◽

Harmful Cyanobacterial Blooms

Applying low concentrations of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) to lakes is an emerging method to mitigate harmful cyanobacterial blooms. While cyanobacteria are very sensitive to H2O2, little is known about the impacts of these H2O2 treatments on other members of the microbial community. In this study, we investigated changes in microbial community composition during two lake treatments with low H2O2 concentrations (target: 2.5 mg L−1) and in two series of controlled lake incubations. The results show that the H2O2 treatments effectively suppressed the dominant cyanobacteria Aphanizomenon klebahnii, Dolichospermum sp. and, to a lesser extent, Planktothrix agardhii. Microbial community analysis revealed that several Proteobacteria (e.g., Alteromonadales, Pseudomonadales, Rhodobacterales) profited from the treatments, whereas some bacterial taxa declined (e.g., Verrucomicrobia). In particular, the taxa known to be resistant to oxidative stress (e.g., Rheinheimera) strongly increased in relative abundance during the first 24 h after H2O2 addition, but subsequently declined again. Alpha and beta diversity showed a temporary decline but recovered within a few days, demonstrating resilience of the microbial community. The predicted functionality of the microbial community revealed a temporary increase of anti-ROS defenses and glycoside hydrolases but otherwise remained stable throughout the treatments. We conclude that the use of low concentrations of H2O2 to suppress cyanobacterial blooms provides a short-term pulse disturbance but is not detrimental to lake microbial communities and their ecosystem functioning.

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Elimination of cyanobacteria and microcystins in irrigation water—effects of hydrogen peroxide treatment

Environmental Science and Pollution Research ◽

10.1007/s11356-019-07476-x ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 27 (8) ◽

pp. 8638-8652 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Lisa Spoof ◽

Sauli Jaakkola ◽

Tamara Važić ◽

Kerstin Häggqvist ◽

Terhi Kirkkala ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Hydrogen Peroxide ◽

Plant Root ◽

Cyanobacterial Blooms ◽

Hydrogen Peroxide Treatment ◽

Low Concentrations ◽

Water Effects ◽

Contaminated Drinking Water ◽

Spray Irrigation ◽

Series Of Experiments ◽

Plant Root System

AbstractCyanobacterial blooms pose a risk to wild and domestic animals as well as humans due to the toxins they may produce. Humans may be subjected to cyanobacterial toxins through many routes, e.g., by consuming contaminated drinking water, fish, and crop plants or through recreational activities. In earlier studies, cyanobacterial cells have been shown to accumulate on leafy plants after spray irrigation with cyanobacteria-containing water, and microcystin (MC) has been detected in the plant root system after irrigation with MC-containing water. This paper reports a series of experiments where lysis of cyanobacteria in abstracted lake water was induced by the use of hydrogen peroxide and the fate of released MCs was followed. The hydrogen peroxide–treated water was then used for spray irrigation of cultivated spinach and possible toxin accumulation in the plants was monitored. The water abstracted from Lake Köyliönjärvi, SW Finland, contained fairly low concentrations of intracellular MC prior to the hydrogen peroxide treatment (0.04 μg L−1 in July to 2.4 μg L−1 in September 2014). Hydrogen peroxide at sufficient doses was able to lyse cyanobacteria efficiently but released MCs were still present even after the application of the highest hydrogen peroxide dose of 20 mg L−1. No traces of MC were detected in the spinach leaves. The viability of moving phytoplankton and zooplankton was also monitored after the application of hydrogen peroxide. Hydrogen peroxide at 10 mg L−1 or higher had a detrimental effect on the moving phytoplankton and zooplankton.

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Cyanobacterial and microcystins dynamics following the application of hydrogen peroxide to waste stabilisation ponds

Hydrology and Earth System Sciences Discussions ◽

10.5194/hessd-10-2067-2013 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 10 (2) ◽

pp. 2067-2088

Author(s):

D. J. Barrington ◽

A. Ghadouani ◽

G. N. Ivey

Keyword(s):

Hydrogen Peroxide ◽

Full Scale ◽

Management Technique ◽

Waste Stabilization Ponds ◽

Waste Stabilisation Ponds ◽

Hydrogen Peroxide Treatment ◽

Waste Stabilization ◽

Cyanobacterial Species ◽

Treatment Train ◽

Term Management

Abstract. Cyanobacteria and cyanotoxins are a risk to human and ecological health, and a hindrance to biological wastewater treatment. This study investigated the use of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) for the removal of cyanobacteria and cyanotoxins from within waste stabilization ponds (WSPs). The daily dynamics of cyanobacteria and microcystins (a commonly occurring cyanotoxin) were examined following the addition of H2O2 to wastewater within both the laboratory and at the full-scale within a WSP. Hydrogen peroxide treatment at concentrations ≥ 10−4 g H2O2 μg−1 of total phytoplankton chlorophyll a led to the death of cyanobacteria, in turn releasing intracellular microcystins to the dissolved state. In the full-scale trial, dissolved microcystins were then degraded to negligible concentrations by H2O2 and environmental processes within five days. A shift in the phytoplankton assemblage towards beneficial chlorophyta species was also observed within days of H2O2 addition. However, within weeks, the chlorophyta population was significantly reduced by the re-establishment of toxic cyanobacterial species. This re-establishment was likely due to the inflow of cyanobacteria from ponds earlier in the treatment train, suggesting that whilst H2O2 may be a suitable short-term management technique, it must be coupled with control over inflows if it is to improve WSP performance in the longer term.

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Hydrogen peroxide treatment promotes chlorophytes over toxic cyanobacteria in a hyper-eutrophic aquaculture pond

Environmental Pollution ◽

10.1016/j.envpol.2018.05.012 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 240 ◽

pp. 590-598 ◽

Cited By ~ 16

Author(s):

Zhen Yang ◽

Riley P. Buley ◽

Edna G. Fernandez-Figueroa ◽

Mario U.G. Barros ◽

Soorya Rajendran ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Hydrogen Peroxide ◽

Aquaculture Pond ◽

Hydrogen Peroxide Treatment ◽

Toxic Cyanobacteria

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Changes in cyanobacterial density due to application of Artificial Floating Island model with macrophytes: an experimental case study in a tropical reservoir

Journal of Limnology ◽

10.4081/jlimnol.2020.1959 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Pedro Ramírez-García ◽

David Chicalote-Castillo

Keyword(s):

Water Quality ◽

Rainy Season ◽

Specific Effect ◽

Cyanobacterial Blooms ◽

Dominant Group ◽

Tropical Reservoir ◽

Floating Island ◽

Toxic Cyanobacteria ◽

Cyanobacterial Species ◽

Restoration Strategies

The Valle de Bravo (VB) reservoir is part of an important hydraulic system that provides about 40% of potable water to 21.5 million inhabitants of the Metropolitan Zone of Mexico City (Mexico). This reservoir shows deterioration in water quality due to its current eutrophic condition, which favors the recurring of cyanobacterial blooms. To date, there are no restoration strategies for this reservoir, so the use of eco-technologies such as Artificial Floating Islands (AFI) is proposed for the removal of nutrients and the improvement of water quality. Therefore, in this work AFIs have been implemented using two macrophytes (Phragmites australis (AFI-P) and Schoenoplectus sp. (AFI-S)) to evaluate the presence and distribution of potentially toxic cyanobacteria in relation to physicochemical variations at the AFI sites. The study was carried out over a period of 24 months (October 2016 -September 2018) divided into two cycles (C-I and C-II) with a dry and rainy season each. Cyanobacteria were the dominant group in the phytoplankton during all the study period. Nine potentially toxic cyanobacterial species were detected, with the predominance of Microcystis aeruginosa, Aphanizomenon yezoense, Pseudanabaena mucicola, Anabaena planctonica and Planktothrix agardhii. In this work, AFIs increased nitrates and had no effect on phosphates. Cyanobacteria were not reduced at AFI sites, however in rainy season in the second annual cycle (C-II) the concentrations of extracellular microcystins in the AFI-P and AFI-S were decreased while intracellular toxins were more strongly reduced only in the AFI-S. Each AFI had a specific effect on four out of five potentially toxic cyanobacteria. Thus, AFI-P promoted the increase of M. aeruginosa but reduced A. planctonica, while AFI-S promoted both A. yezoense and P. mucicola. The AFIs modified the dynamics among cyanobacteria particularly diazotrophic A. yezoense which was favored by nitrates and the other three species maintained their presence by the phosphates. M. aeruginosa, non-diazotrophic, responded to nitrates only in the absence of A. yezoense. Finally, in VB reservoir we found a mutually exclusive relationship between M. aeruginosa and A. yezoense likewise between A. planctonica and P. mucicola.

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Daphnia magna tolerance to toxic cyanobacteria in the presence of an opportunistic infection within an evolutionary perspective

Belgian Journal of Zoology ◽

10.26496/bjz.2020.75 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 150 ◽

Author(s):

Alice Boudry ◽

Sarah Devliegere ◽

Shira Houwenhuyse ◽

Lucas Clarysse ◽

Emilie Macke ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Opportunistic Infection ◽

Daphnia Magna ◽

Biotic Interactions ◽

Cyanobacterial Blooms ◽

Aquatic Environments ◽

Sediment Depth ◽

Toxic Cyanobacteria ◽

Cyanobacterial Species ◽

Adaptive Effect ◽

Negative Effect

In aquatic environments, interactions between cyanobacteria and their grazers are crucial for ecosystem functioning. Cyanobacteria are photosynthetic prokaryotes, which are able to produce large blooms and associated toxins, some of which are able to suppress grazer fitness. Cyanobacterial blooms are intensified by global warming and eutrophication. In our experiments, the tolerance of Daphnia magna (Straus, 1820), an efficient grazer of toxic cyanobacteria, was studied. We used different D. magna clones sampled from different sediment depths, which corresponded to different time periods of eutrophication. Our results showed that different clones had a different tolerance towards the toxic cyanobacterial species, Microcystis aeruginosa, confirming the presence of genetic variation in D. magna tolerance to cyanobacteria. However, there was not a significant adaptive effect of sediment depth. As expected, in general under controlled, infection-free conditions M. aeruginosa reduced D. magna survival. However, a coincidental, non-intended opportunistic fungal infection in a first experiment allowed us to compare the response of D. magna to M. aeruginosa in infected individuals and non-infected individuals (from a second experiment). In the presence of this opportunistic infection, there was no negative effect of M. aeruginosa in the D. magna clones, suggesting that exposure to the infection provided protection for Daphnia individuals towards Microcystis. Biotic interactions can thus be important in the interpretation of cyanobacterial effects in zooplankton grazers and in finding appropriate solutions to reduce the occurrence of cyanobacterial blooms.

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Comparison of algal harvest and hydrogen peroxide treatment in mitigating cyanobacterial blooms via an in situ mesocosm experiment

The Science of The Total Environment ◽

10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.133721 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 694 ◽

pp. 133721 ◽

Cited By ~ 7

Author(s):

Fan Fan ◽

Xiaoli Shi ◽

Min Zhang ◽

Changqing Liu ◽

Kaining Chen

Keyword(s):

Hydrogen Peroxide ◽

Mesocosm Experiment ◽

Cyanobacterial Blooms ◽

Hydrogen Peroxide Treatment

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Cyanobacterial blooms in freshwaters bodies in a semiarid region, northeastern Brazil: A review

Journal of Limnology ◽

10.4081/jlimnol.2017.1646 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 77 (2) ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

Ariadne do Nascimento Moura ◽

Nisia K. C. Aragão-Tavares ◽

Cihelio A. Amorim

Keyword(s):

Dominant Species ◽

Northeastern Brazil ◽

Cyanobacterial Blooms ◽

Cylindrospermopsis Raciborskii ◽

Semiarid Region ◽

Northeast Brazil ◽

Freshwater Bodies ◽

Toxic Blooms ◽

Harmful Cyanobacterial Blooms ◽

Density And Biomass

Harmful cyanobacterial blooms have caused several problems in freshwater environments due to their prolific growth and the harmful cyanotoxins produced by some species. The occurrence of these organisms has increased in recent decades due to climate change and eutrophication, although most studies are from temperate regions in the Northern hemisphere. This review presents data about cyanobacteria occurrence, dominance, and toxicity events in freshwater bodies in a semiarid region of Northeast Brazil, in the tropical Southern hemisphere. We performed a literature survey of cyanobacteria publications from 1930 to 2016. We made a list of all the dominant species registered in each state, noted their distribution and occurrence of dominance events involving one or more species, and the registered records of toxic blooms, including information about the toxins involved and the range of values. We selected 102 publications that described cyanobacteria occurrence from states in Northeast Brazil; these publications included relevant contributions regarding cyanobacteria distribution, richness, density, and biomass. Forty-nine dominant species were recorded, with the most representation found in the state of Pernambuco (30 spp.). The genera with the highest occurrences were Microcystis, Cylindrospermopsis, Planktothrix, Dolichospermum (=Anabaena), and Geitlerinema, especially the species Cylindrospermopsis raciborskii, Microcystis aeruginosa, and Planktothrix agardhii. Episodes of toxic blooms were observed in four states. Microcystins, cylindrospermopsin, saxitoxins, and anatoxin-a(S) were found to be associated with these blooms. In Northeast Brazil, harmful cyanobacterial blooms are common in urban and public reservoirs. However, in recent years, cyanobacterial blooms in this region have been more intense and perennial, with high biomass occurring throughout the year.

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