Effects of Bacillus subtilis on the growth, colony maintenance, and attached bacterial community composition of colonial cyanobacteria

• Published in: Environmental science and pollution research international Vol. 26; no. 15; pp. 14977 - 14987
• Main Authors: Bi, Xiangdong, Dai, Wei, Wang, Xueying, Dong, Shaojie, Zhang, Shulin, Zhang, Dajuan, Shi, Hongyue
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Berlin/Heidelberg Springer Berlin Heidelberg 01.05.2019; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Algicides; Aquaculture; Aquatic Pollution; Atmospheric Protection/Air Quality Control/Air Pollution; Bacillus; Bacillus subtilis - growth & development; Bacillus subtilis - physiology; Bacteria; Colonies; Communities; Community composition; Composition; Cyanobacteria; Cyanobacteria - growth & development; Disintegration; Earth and Environmental Science; Ecotoxicology; Environment; Environmental Chemistry; Environmental Health; Environmental science; Flocculation; Fresh Water - microbiology; Freshwater aquaculture; Microcystins; Microcystins - metabolism; Ponds; Ponds - microbiology; Pseudomonas - growth & development; Research Article; Shewanella - growth & development; Waste Water Technology; Water Management; Water Pollution Control; Bacteria diversity; Colony-attached bacteria; Colonial cyanobacteria; Growth; Colony maintenance; Bacillus subtilis
• ISSN: 0944-1344; 1614-7499
• DOI: 10.1007/s11356-019-04902-y

In freshwater aquaculture ponds, application of algicidal Bacillus is a promising way in the control of cyanobacterial blooms. To best understand Bacillus algicidal characters and mechanisms in the field, different-sized colonial cyanobacteria were isolated from an aquaculture pond, and the effects of B. subtilis on their growth, colony maintenance, and colony-attached bacterial community composition were investigated. The results showed that B. subtilis could inhibit the growth of colonial cyanobacteria. Bigger-sized colonies isolated from the field could spontaneously disintegrate into smaller-sized colonies in the laboratory. Algicidal B. subtilis could accelerate the disintegration of colonies and decrease colony size. B. subtilis not only decreased the colony-attached bacterial community diversity but also changed its composition. B. subtilis increased the relative abundances of some attached bacterial genera, including Pseudomonas , Shewanella , Bacillus , Shinella , Rhizobium , and Ensifer . These bacteria with algicidal, microcystin-degrading, and flocculating activities might be an important contributor to algicidal effects of B. subtilis on colonial cyanobacteria.