Biogeography of the cyanobacterium Raphidiopsis (Cylindrospermopsis) raciborskii: Integrating genomics, phylogenetic and toxicity data

Raphidiopsis (Cylindrospermopsis) raciborskii, a globally distributed bloom-forming cyanobacterium, produces either the cytotoxin cylindrospermopsin (CYL) in Oceania, Asia and Europe or the neurotoxin saxitoxin (STX) and analogues (paralytic shellfish poison, PSP) in South America (encoded by sxt genetic cluster) and none of them in Africa. Nevertheless, this particular geographic pattern is usually overlooked in current hypotheses about the species dispersal […]

Effect of hydrological modification on the potential toxicity of Microcystis aeruginosa complex in Salto Grande reservoir, Uruguay

It is widely known that the environmental conditions caused by the construction of reservoirs favor the proliferation of toxic cyanobacteria and the formation of blooms due to the high residence time of the water, low turbidity, temperature regimes, among others. Microcystin-producing cyanobacteria such as those from the Microcystis aeruginosa complex (MAC) are the most frequently found organisms in reservoirs worldwide, […]

Prokaryotic richness and diversity increased during Holocene glacier retreat and onset of an Antarctic Lake

Knowledge about biodiversity changes during transitions from glacial landscape to lake formation is limited to contemporary studies. Here, we combined analyses of lithology, chronology and geochemistry with sedimentary ancient DNA metabarcoding to assess such transition in maritime Antarctica. We inferred three paleoenvironmental stages covering the Holocene glacier retreat process. From 4900 to 3850 years before […]

Mujeres en las ciencias del mar y la ecología acuática en Uruguay

La diversidad de miradas y aproximaciones a un mismo problema resulta en mayores alternativas para su solución. Esto es especialmente relevante en el ámbito de la ciencia y la innovación tecnológica, en el que a las mujeres se las reconoce por promover el trabajo y la interdisciplina con más fuerza que los varones. Pero las […]

Selective enrichment of active bacterial taxa in the Microcystis associated microbiome during colony growth

The toxic cyanobacterium Microcystis causes worldwide health concerns, being frequently found in freshwater and estuarine ecosystems. Under natural conditions, Microcystis spp. show a colonial lifestyle involving a phycosphere populated by a highly diverse associated microbiome. In a previous study, we have proposed that colony formation and growth may be achieved through mechanisms of multispecies bacterial […]