Abstract:
Odor problems in freshwater caused by 2-methylisoborneol (2-MIB) have received much attention in China recently. The odorous 2-MIB in freshwater is known to be mainly produced by a group of filamentous cyanobacteria which cause offensive taste and odor in drinking water and fish catch. From the detection of MIB synthase gene and GC/MS analyses, 24 strains of 2-MIB-producing cyanobacteria were detected in Freshwater Algae Culture Collection at the Institute of Hydrobiology (FACHB-collection), National Aquatic Biological Resource Center, the largest microalgal culture collection in China. These strains were re-identified as
Planktothricoides raciborskii (Wołoszyńska) Suda & Watanabe,
Aerosakkonema funiforme Thu & Watanabe,
Pseudanabaena cinerea Tuji & Niiyama,
Oscillatoria lutea var.
contorta Baker et Bold,
Microcoleus sp.,
Desertifilum tharense Dadheech & Krienitz and
Sodalinema sp. by morphological descriptions and molecular characteristics based on the 16S rRNA gene, respectively. Most 2-MIB-producing strains of
Planktothrix in FACHB-collection should be re-identified as
P. raciborskii or
A. funiforme. This was the first report of 2-MIB-producing filamentous cyanobacteria of
Aerosakkonema,
Desertifilum and
Sodalinema in the world, and was also the first report of 2-MIB-producing
Microcoleus in China. The phylogenetic analyses base on 16S rRNA gene indicated that 2-MIB-producing strains in FACHB-collection were placed on seven separated clades, which reflected true taxonomic relationships. The genera
Planktothricoides,
Aerosakkonema,
Pseudanabaena,
Microcoleus,
Desertifilum and
Sodalinema formed six monophyletic clades in 16S rDNA tree; however,
O. lutea var.
contorta was closely related to some strains of
Oscillatoria,
Phormidium and
Kamptonema. The phylogenetic analyses based on
mic gene indicated that 2-MIB-producing cyanobacteria strains formed five clades with high support values. 2-MIB-producing
P. raciborskii and
A. funiforme were clustered into Clade I in
mic tree. Two 2-MIB-producing
Microcoleus strains were placed on Clade Ⅱ and Ⅲ, respectively. All 2-MIB-producing
Pseudanabaena strains were clustered into Clade Ⅳ. Phylogenetic topology of some 2-MIB-producing strains in
mic tree were incongruent with the topology in 16S rDNA tree. Cell quota of 2-MIB produced by these strains may vary in a wide range, varying from 6—2549 fg/cell. Cell quota of 2-MIB varied considerably among species, such as
P. raciborskii >
A. funiforme >
P. cinerea. The results provide important experimental materials and basic data on morphological, molecular, ecological and 2-MIB-producing characteristics of filamentous cyanobacteria, and contribute to understanding ecophysiological characteristics 2-MIB-producing cyanobacteria.