Harmful Algae in a Changing World: Where Did We Come from and Where Are We Going?

A special issue of Toxins (ISSN 2072-6651). This special issue belongs to the section "Marine and Freshwater Toxins".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 28 February 2025 | Viewed by 1179

Special Issue Editor


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Guest Editor
Museum National d'Histoire Naturelle, 75005 Paris, France
Interests: harmful algal blooms; cyanobacteria; photosynthetic protists; cyanotoxins; aquatic ecotoxicology; molecular approaches; ecophysiology; trophic interactions; stress responses
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Aquatic environments, including both freshwater and marine ecosystems, are frequently disturbed by the intensification of harmful algae, so called harmful algae bloom (HABs), worldwide. Some species are capable of producing toxic compounds and other bioactive metabolic products which seriously affect food chains and human health. There is a current consensus that the anthropogenic pressure and/or the climatic changes including warming, acidification and hypoxia stressors may act on harmful algae evolution today and in the future. However, the extent to which global changes affect the harmful algae range expansion and increased toxicity is not fully clear and needs further combined investigations.

The Special Issue is open, but not limited, to recent advances on new harmful algae distribution, toxin production, algal response to environmental stresses, impacts on trophic food webs and topics linked to the management and prediction of HABs in all water systems.

All papers, including original research, critical reviews, short communications or challenging questions in the field, are greatly welcomed.

Dr. Katia Comte
Guest Editor

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Keywords

  • HABs
  • freshwater and marine algae
  • trophic interactions
  • toxins
  • emerging pollutants
  • climatic changes
  • eutrophication
  • remediation

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

20 pages, 4904 KiB  
Article
Community Structure and Toxicity Potential of Cyanobacteria during Summer and Winter in a Temperate-Zone Lake Susceptible to Phytoplankton Blooms
by Łukasz Wejnerowski, Tamara Dulić, Sultana Akter, Arnoldo Font-Nájera, Michał Rybak, Oskar Kamiński, Anna Czerepska, Marcin Krzysztof Dziuba, Tomasz Jurczak, Jussi Meriluoto, Joanna Mankiewicz-Boczek and Mikołaj Kokociński
Toxins 2024, 16(8), 357; https://doi.org/10.3390/toxins16080357 - 14 Aug 2024
Viewed by 798
Abstract
Cyanobacterial blooms are increasingly common during winters, especially when they are mild. The goal of this study was to determine the summer and winter phytoplankton community structure, cyanotoxin presence, and toxigenicity in a eutrophic lake susceptible to cyanobacterial blooms throughout the year, using [...] Read more.
Cyanobacterial blooms are increasingly common during winters, especially when they are mild. The goal of this study was to determine the summer and winter phytoplankton community structure, cyanotoxin presence, and toxigenicity in a eutrophic lake susceptible to cyanobacterial blooms throughout the year, using classical microscopy, an analysis of toxic cyanometabolites, and an analysis of genes involved in biosynthesis of cyanotoxins. We also assessed whether cyanobacterial diversity in the studied lake has changed compared to what was reported in previous reports conducted several years ago. Moreover, the bloom-forming cyanobacterial strains were isolated from the lake and screened for cyanotoxin presence and toxigenicity. Cyanobacteria were the main component of the phytoplankton community in both sampling times, and, in particular, Oscillatoriales were predominant in both summer (Planktothrix/Limnothrix) and winter (Limnothrix) sampling. Compared to the winter community, the summer community was denser; richer in species; and contained alien and invasive Nostocales, including Sphaerospermopsis aphanizomenoides, Raphidiopsis raciborskii, and Raphidiopsis mediterranea. In both sampling times, the blooms contained toxigenic species with genetic determinants for the production of cylindrospermopsin and microcystins. Toxicological screening revealed the presence of microcystins in the lake in summer but no cyanotoxins in the winter period of sampling. However, several cyanobacterial strains isolated from the lake during winter and summer produced anabaenopeptins and microcystins. This study indicates that summer and winter blooms of cyanobacteria in the temperate zone can differ in biomass, structure, and toxicity, and that the toxic hazards associated with cyanobacterial blooms may potentially exist during winter. Full article
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