A novel bacterium Saprospira sp. strain PdY3 forms bundles and lyses cyanobacteria

A helical filamentous cyanobactericidal bacterium was isolated from Dianchi Lake, a eutrophic freshwater lake in Kunming City of the Yunnan Province in China using a special solid medium. This species was designated strain PdY3. This bacterium was identified as a novel Saprospira sp. on the basis of its morphological characteristics and 16S rDNA sequence. Strain PdY3 showed apparent group behavior on the solid medium, forming orderly, bundle-like group structures. These bundles moved as groups. Individuals in a bundle responded to the bundle as a whole. PdY3 also showed group behavior and formed a three-dimensional reticular structure when co-cultured with Anabaena in liquid media. This helical bacterium lysed cyanobacteria through direct contact and its group behavior greatly accelerated the cyanobactericidal process. Our experiments showed that PdY3 caused lysis of 64% of Anabaena cells within 1 day and that its cyanobactericidal range was broad. These results underscore potential application of Saprospira on the control of blooms of cyanobacteria. PdY3 group behavior might allow a more efficient capture of bacterial prey.