Abstract
Cyanobacteria are characterized by a very high tolerance to environmental factors. They are found in salt water, fresh water, thermal springs, and Antarctic waters. The wide spectrum of habitats suitable for those microorganisms is related to their particularly effective metabolism; resistance to extreme environmental conditions; and the need for only limited environmental resources such as water, carbon dioxide, simple inorganic salts, and light. These metabolic characteristics have led to cyanobacterial blooms and the production of cyanotoxins, justifying research into effective ways to counteract the excessive proliferation of these microorganisms. A new and interesting idea for the immediate reduction of cyanobacterial abundance is to use natural substances with broad-spectrum biological activity to restore phytoplankton diversity. This study describes the effects of selected monoterpenoid derivatives on the development of cyanobacterial cultures. In the course of the study, some compounds ((±)-citronellal, (+)-α-pinene) showed the ability to inhibit the colonization of the tested photosynthetic bacteria, while others (eugenol, eucalyptol) stimulated the growth of these microorganisms. By analyzing the results of these experiments, information was obtained on the mutual relations of cyanobacteria and the tested monoterpenes, which are present in the aquatic environment.Key points• Monoterpenoids significantly inhibit the growth of single cyanobacterial strains.• Monoterpenoids can inhibit the growth of cyanobacterial consortia.• Natural substances can control the growth of freshwater cyanobacteria.
Highlights
Cyanobacteria in principle require only water, carbon dioxide, inorganic substances, and light to live (Fay 1965; Vioque 2007)
Our studies verified an influence of selected monoterpenoids, including citral, (±)-citronellal, (±)-citronellol, eugenol, (+)carvone, (+)-dihydrocarvone, (+)-α-pinene, eucalyptol, and (+)-3-carene, on the growth of the freshwater cyanobacteria species Anabaena sp., Chroococcus minutus, and Nodularia moravica
N. moravica was the most sensitive cyanobacterial species to the presence of citral; in this experiment, after 3 days, no growth was observed with citral concentrations of 0.8 and 1.0 mmol/L
Summary
Cyanobacteria in principle require only water, carbon dioxide, inorganic substances, and light to live (Fay 1965; Vioque 2007). These limited environmental requirements make blue-green algae pioneer microorganisms; they occur most. Some other species responsible for bloom formation include Cylindrospermopsis raciborskii in tropical regions (Sinha et al 2012) and Planktothrix sp. A massive and serious environmental problem is cyanobacterial water bloom as a result of eutrophication (O’Neil et al 2012; Paerl and Paul 2012). Cyanobacterial toxins are dangerous for people and other animals since they may cause staggering, hypersalivation, muscle fasciculations, gasping, liver damage, skin irritation, or muscle paralysis (Codd 2000)
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