Growth, nitrogen fixation, and nodularin production by two baltic sea cyanobacteria

In late summer, nitrogen-fixing cyanobacteria Nodularia spumigena and Aphanizomenon flos-aquae form blooms in the open Baltic Sea. N. spumigena has caused several animal poisonings, but Baltic A. flos-aquae is not known to be toxic. In this laboratory study, performed with batch cultures, the influences of environmental conditions on the biomass and nitrogen fixation rate of N. spumigena and A. flos-aquae were compared and the toxin (nodularin) concentration produced by N. spumigena was measured. Several differences in the biomasses and nitrogen fixation rates of N. spumigena and A. flos-aquae were observed. A. flos-aquae preferred lower irradiances, salinities, and temperatures than N. spumigena. The biomass of both species increased with high phosphate concentrations and with accompanying bacteria and decreased with unnaturally high inorganic nitrogen concentrations. Nodularin concentrations in cells and growth media, as well as nitrogen fixation rates, were generally highest under the conditions that promoted growth. Intracellular nodularin concentrations increased with high temperature, high irradiance, and high phosphate concentration and decreased with low and high salinities and high inorganic nitrogen concentrations. Nodularin concentrations in growth media increased with incubation time, indicating that intracellular nodularin was released when cells lysed. The different responses of A. flos-aquae and N. spumigena to changes in salinity, irradiance, and temperature may explain the different spatial and temporal distribution of these species in the Baltic Sea. According to the results, toxic N. spumigena blooms may be expected in late summer in areas of the Baltic Sea with high phosphorus concentrations and moderate salinity.