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Issue Ann. Limnol. - Int. J. Lim.
Volume 45, Number 3, 2009
Page(s) 203 - 208
DOI 10.1051/limn/2009020
Published online 21 August 2009

Ann. Limnol. - Int. J. Lim. 45 (2009) 203-208
DOI: 10.1051/limn/2009020

Benefits and costs of the grazer-induced colony formation in Microcystis aeruginosa

Zhen Yang1, 2, Fanxiang Kong1, Zhou Yang3, Min Zhang1, Yang Yu1 and Shanqin Qian1, 2

1  State Key Laboratory of Lake Science Environment, Nanjing Institute of Geography and Limnology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 73 East Beijing Road, 210008 Nanjing, China
2  Graduate School of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, 100039 Beijing, China
3  Jiangsu Key Laboratory for Biodiversity and Biotechnology, School of Biological Sciences, Nanjing Normal University, 1 Wenyuan Road, 210046 Nanjing, China

fxkong@niglas.ac.cn

Received 27 April 2009; Accepted 10 July 2009; Published online 21 August 2009

Abstract
Colonial Microcystis aeruginosa were obtained when the unicellular algae were exposed to flagellate Ochromonas sp. filtrate. To investigate the benefit of this morphological change, flagellates were added into cultures of unicellular and colonial M. aeruginosa, respectively. The clearance rates of flagellates on algae were markedly decreased when they were cultivated with induced colonial M. aeruginosa. This result indicated that colony formation in M. aeruginosa was a predator-induced defense, which could reduce predation risk from flagellate. The increased content of soluble extracellular polysaccharide (sEPS) and bound extracellular polysaccharide (bEPS) may play an important role in adhering M. aeruginosa cells together to form colonies. The decrease of ΦPS II and the increase of sinking rates of induced colonial M. aeruginosa showed that the costs of grazed-induced colony formation in M. aeruginosa may reflect in the photosystem II efficiency, and in the sinking rates.


Key words: Morphological plasticity -- Ochromonas sp. -- clearance rate -- sinking rate -- polysaccharide


© EDP Sciences 2009


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