Distribution of epilithic algae in the Xiangxi River system and their relationships with environmental factors

The spatial pattern of epilithic algae in the Xiangxi River system was studied in relation to several environmental factors by two-way indictor species analysis (TWINSPAN), detrended correspondence analysis (DCA), and canonical correspondence analysis (CCA). Eighty-nine taxa including diatoms, green algae, and blue-green algae were observed. Diatoms were dominant, and Cocconeis placentula, Cymbella minuta, Diatoma vulgare, and Gomphonema angustatum appeared in most of sampling sites. By TWINSPAN and DCA, thirty-one sites were divided into three groups based on composition and relative richness of benthic algae. CCA indicated that SiO2, pH, total phosphorus, Ca2+, velocity, elevation, and Cl- were significant environmental factors affecting the distribution of algae communities. In this minimal subset, SiO2 and pH were the most influential variables.

Effects of CO2 enrichment on microstructure and ultrastructure of two species of freshwater green algae

order to investigate the morphological response of freshwater green algae to elevated CO2 concentration, Chlamydomonas reinhardtii Dang and Scenedesmus obliquus Kutz were cultured with enriched CO2, and their microstructure and ultrastructure were examined by microscopy and electron microscopy. The effect of CO2 enrichment to 186 mumol/L, was insignificant on the shape and size of C. reinhardtii, but significant in reducing the volume of S. obliquus. High-CO2 increased the amount of chloroplast. The pyrenoids occurred in low-CO2-grown cells but not in high-CO2-grown ones and more starch granules were observed in the former.

Life history characteristics of three types of females in Brachionus calyciflorus Pallas (Rotifera) fed different algae

This study describes the life history characteristics of amictic, unfertilized mictic and fertilized mictic females of the rotifer Brachionus calyciflorus cultured individually on two different algae at 0.1 mg ml(-1) food concentration and 27 degreesC. The duration of the juvenile period of amictic females was significantly shorter on Chlorella pyrenoidosa Chick than on Scenedesmus obliquus Kutz or both algae together. The duration of the juvenile period of unfertilized mictic females was significantly longer, and the number of eggs produced by amictic females was significantly larger on Chlorella pyrenoidosa than on S. obliquus. When fed the same type of alga, the duration of the juvenile period of the fertilized mictic females was the longest among the three types of females, and the durations of the reproductive period of the amictic females and the post-reproductive period of the fertilized mictic females were longer than, or equal to those of the other two types of females, respectively. The number of eggs produced by an unfertilized mictic female was the largest among the three types of females, and that of amictic females was larger than or equal to that of fertilized mictic females, depending on the type of diet.

FATE OF 2 PHENYLBENZOYLUREA INSECTICIDES IN AN ALGAE CULTURE SYSTEM (SCENEDESMUS-SUBSPICATUS)

The bioaccumulation, elimination and degradation of C-14-labelled diflubenzuron (DFB) and of 1-(2-chlorobenzoyl)-3-(4-chlorophenyl)urea (CCU) was studied in a laboratory algae culture system of scenedesmus subspicatus. Algae were exposed at an initial concentration of 200 mug/l for seven days. Neither substance had an inhibitory effect on the growth of algae. The half life of DFB and CCU was 3 and 1 days, respectively, as measured by HPLC. The distribution of C-14 between medium and algae was measured. In the case of DFB radioactivity in algae increased steadily and levelled off at approximately 60 % after 5 days. Due to algae growth BCF values decreased from 4310 to 889 for DFB and from 6719 to 304 for CCU during the exposure period. The relationship between algae density and bioconcentration could be correlated by an adsorption isotherm. Elimination of both compounds was rapid during the first hours.

STUDIES ON MIXED MASS CULTIVATION OF ANABAENA SPP (NITROGEN-FIXING BLUE-GREEN-ALGAE, CYANOBACTERIA) ON A LARGE-SCALE

Studies on mixed mass cultivation of Anabaena spp. on a large scale (5170 m2) were conducted continuously for 3 years. Under the continental monsoon climate in northern subtropics (30-degrees-N, 115-degrees-E), 7-11 g dry weight m-2 day-1 of microalgal biomass on average was harvested in simple plastic greenhouses in the effective growth days during the warmer seasons. The maximum productivity was 22 g m-2 day-1 in the middle of summer. Observations on the productive properties of strains of Anabaena spp. indicated that they were different from and could compensate for each other in their productivities and adaptations to the seasonal changes. With different lining materials (PVC sheets, concrete, sand and soil) in the culture ponds, no significant variation of productivity was found, but bubbling with biogas in the middle of the day and the application of some growth regulating substances (2,4-D, NaHSO3 and extracts of oyster mushroom spawn) was able to improve the production. The cost of microalgal biomass in this way was around 0.75-1.0 US dollar(s) per kilogram.

CYCLIC PEPTIDE HEPATOTOXINS FROM FRESH-WATER CYANOBACTERIAL (BLUE-GREEN-ALGAE) WATERBLOOMS COLLECTED IN CENTRAL CHINA

Toxic cyanobacteria (blue-green algae) waterblooms have been found in several Chinese water bodies since studies began there in 1984. Waterbloom samples for this study contained Anabaena circinalis, Microcystis aeruginosa and Oscillatoria sp. Only those waterblooms dominated by Microcystis aeruginosa were toxic by the intraperitoneal (i.p.) mouse bioassay. Signs of poisoning were the same as with known hepatotoxic cyclic peptide microcystins. One toxic fraction was isolated from each Microcystis aeruginosa sample. Two hepatotoxic peptides were purified from each of the fractions by high-performance liquid chromatography and identified by amino acid analysis followed by low and high resolution fast-atom bombardment mass spectrometry (FAB-MS). LD50 i.p. mouse values for the two toxins were 245-mu-g/kg (Toxin A) and 53-mu-g/g (Toxin B). Toxin content in the cells was 0.03 to 3.95 mg/g (Toxin A) and 0.18 to 3.33 mg/kg (Toxin B). The amino acid composition of Toxin A was alanine [1], arginine [2], glutamic acid [1] and beta-methylaspartic acid [1]; for Toxin B it was the same, except one of the arginines was replaced with a leucine. Low- and high-resolution FAB-MS showed that the molecular weights were 1,037 m/z (Toxin A) and 994 m/z (Toxin B), with formulas of C49H76O12N13 (Toxin A) and C49H75O12N10 (Toxin B). It was concluded that Toxin A is microcystin-RR and Toxin B is microcystin-LR, both known cyclic heptapeptide hepatotoxins isolated from cyanobacteria in other parts of the world. Sodium borohydride reduction of microcystin-RR yielded dihydro-microcystin-RR (m/z = 1,039), an important intermediate in the preparation of tritium-labeled toxin for metabolism and fate studies.