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Fungi Infect Nitrogen-Fixing Cyanobacteria

The filamentous blue-green algae Dolichospermum spec. (shown here in pink fluorescence) is infected by the parasitic fungus (stained green).
Under the fluorescence microscope: The filamentous blue-green algae Dolichospermum spec. (shown here in pink fluorescence) is infected by the parasitic fungus (stained green). (Photo: IOW / I. Klawonn)

Under the lead of the Leibniz Institute for Baltic Sea Research Warnemünde (IOW) the influence of parasitic fungi on the physiology and survival of cyanobacteria in the Baltic Sea was investigated. Such infections are known from lakes. Due to the high nutrient load in the Baltic Sea, there are high levels of cyanobacteria, some of which are toxic (algal blooms). In addition, the decomposition of algal blooms leads to oxygen depletion. Cyanobacteria are important for the nitrogen cycle, as some fix nitrogen and thus further increase nutrient concentrations in the Baltic Sea. The findings were recently published in the journal Nature Communications.

 

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