Control Of Toxin-Producing Cyanobacterial Population Using Selected Agricultural Wastes
Loading...
Date
2015-12
Authors
Sim, Yi Jing
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Universiti Sains Malaysia
Abstract
Cyanobacteria, also known as the blue-green algae, are photosynthetic prokaryotes which form blooms in water when the conditions are favourable. Cyanobacterial bloom has been a nuisance around the world and pose health issue especially those related to toxin producing cyanobacteria. The use of chemical algaecide such as copper sulphate to control its population was effective but it has a wide spectrum toxicity towards non-target organisms. The use of agricultural wastes such as barley straw has been proven capable and widely used in Europe and North America to control cyanobacterial bloom but country like Malaysia has limited access to bulk barley straw. Agricultural wastes like sugarcane bagasse and oil palm biomass are available in abundance and suitable to study of their potential towards control of cyanobacterial bloom. So far, no study has been done on cyanobacterial species in Malaysia especially toxin producing species or the use of these agricultural wastes to control cyanobacteria. This study aims to investigate the potential of selected agricultural wastes, oil palm trunk (OPT), empty fruit bunch (EFB) and sugarcane bagasse (SCB) to control cyanobacterial bloom by using locally isolated cyanobacteria. Variation of cyanobacterial species isolated from Air Itam dam, Teluk Bahang dam, Harapan Lake and Aman Lake in Penang, were identified using morphology and molecular 16S rRNA. Detection for microcystin-, anatoxin-, cylindrospermopsin-, and saxitoxin-producing genes were done using specific primers. Then, selected agricultural waste was tested with isolated cyanobacteria for inhibitory effect by measuring chlorophyll a content. In total, 25 strains were isolated from the four locations in Penang, Malaysia. Microcystis sp.-specific mcyE gene was
detected in Microcystis aeruginosa isolated from Air Itam dam and was confirmed with microcystin strip test. OPT and EFB showed selective inhibition towards different species. Meanwhile, the inhibitory effect of SCB on cyanobacterial growth was more promising than OPT and EFB.
Description
Keywords
Toxin producing cyanobacteria