Picocyanobacteria aggregation as a response to predation pressure: direct contact is not necessary

Picocyanobacteria (cells <2 µm) can be found either as single-cells (Pcy) or embedded in a mucilaginous sheath as microcolonies or colonies (CPcy). It has been demonstrated that phenotypic plasticity in picocyanobacteria (i.e. the capability of single-cells to aggregate into colonies) can be induced as a response to grazing pressure. The effect of the presence of different predators (cladocerans and rotifers) on the morphological composition of picocyanobacteria was studied in a natural community, and it was observed that the abundance of CPcy significantly increased in all treatments with zooplankton compared with the control without zooplankton. The aggregation capability was also evaluated in a single-cell strain by adding a conditioned medium of flagellates, rotifers and cladocerans. The proportion of cells forming colonies was significantly higher in all treatments with conditioned medium regardless of the predator. These results suggest that the aggregation of Pcy can be induced as a response to the predation pressure exerted by protists and different zooplankters, and also that Pcy has the capability to aggregate into CPcy even without direct contact with any predator, most probably due to the presence of an infochemical dissolved in the water that does not come from disrupted Pcy cells.