Salinity-driven ecology and diversity changes of heterocytous cyanobacteria in Australian freshwater and coastal-marine microbial mats.

ABSTRACT: N₂ -fixing heterocytous cyanobacteria are considered to play a minor role in sustaining coastal microbial mat communities developing under normal marine to hypersaline conditions. Here, we investigated microbial mats growing under different salinities from freshwater mats of Giblin River (Tasmania) to metahaline and hypersaline mats of Shark Bay (Western Australia). Analyses of genetic (rRNA and mRNA) and biological markers (heterocyte glycolipids) revealed an unexpectedly large diversity of heterocytous cyanobacteria in all the studied microbial mat communities. It was observed that the taxonomic distribution as well as abundance of cyanobacteria is strongly affected by salinity. Low salinity favoured the presence of heterocytous cyanobacteria in freshwater mats, while mats thr

SUBMITTER: Campbell MA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10092834 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature