Abstract
Cyanobacteria (“blue-green algae”) from marine and freshwater habitats are known to produce a diverse array of toxic or otherwise bioactive metabolites. However, the functional role of the vast majority of these compounds, particularly in terms of the physiology and ecology of the cyanobacteria that produce them, remains largely unknown. A limited number of studies have suggested that some of the compounds may have ecological roles as allelochemicals, specifically including compounds that may inhibit competing sympatric macrophytes, algae and microbes. These allelochemicals may also play a role in defense against potential predators and grazers, particularly aquatic invertebrates and their larvae. This review will discuss the existing evidence for the allelochemical roles of cyanobacterial toxins, as well as the potential for development and application of these compounds as algaecides, herbicides and insecticides, and specifically present relevant results from investigations into toxins of cyanobacteria from the Florida Everglades and associated waterways.
Highlights
In 1959, Gottfried Fraenkel, in his seminal paper, “The Raison D’Être of Secondary PlantSubstances,” first proposed that the myriad of secondary compounds from plants – previously considered to be waste products of little importance - might serve to determine palatability of these plants with respect to insect herbivores [1]
Among the oldest extant organism on Earth, dating back in the fossil record to nearly 3.5 billion years ago, the cyanobacteria (“blue-green algae”) have evolved to produce an impressive array of biologically active compounds. Reviewed elsewhere in this Special Issue on Marine Toxins [3], these cyanobacterial metabolites encompass a wide range of chemical classes, including a diversity of nitrogen-rich alkaloids and peptides [4], which have been suggested to both pose threats to human and environmental health worldwide, and hold considerable potential for development of pharmaceuticals and other biomedical applications. Despite this extraordinary evolution of the chemical “repertoire” of cyanobacteria, very little remains known about the functional role of these compounds in the physiology, ecology and natural history of these organisms
A number of possible ecologically and physiologically relevant roles of cyanobacterial secondary metabolites have been previously proposed, and these proposed roles have largely paralleled functions described for higher plants, understandably drawing upon the aforementioned wealth of studies on plant chemical ecology
Summary
In 1959, Gottfried Fraenkel, in his seminal paper, “The Raison D’Être of Secondary Plant. Among the oldest extant organism on Earth, dating back in the fossil record to nearly 3.5 billion years ago, the cyanobacteria (“blue-green algae”) have evolved to produce an impressive array of biologically active compounds Reviewed elsewhere in this Special Issue on Marine Toxins [3], these cyanobacterial metabolites encompass a wide range of chemical classes, including a diversity of nitrogen-rich alkaloids and peptides [4], which have been suggested to both pose threats to human and environmental health worldwide, and hold considerable potential for development of pharmaceuticals and other biomedical applications. Everglades, in relation to allelopathic interactions with other microalgae, and possible defenses to mosquito larvae, as potential predators of cyanobacteria, in this habitat
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