title: Allelopathic interactions of linoleic acid and nitric oxide increase the competitive ability of Microcystis aeruginosa.
abstract: The frequency and intensity of cyanobacterial blooms are increasing worldwide with major societal and economic costs. Interactions between toxic cyanobacteria and eukaryotic algal competitors can affect toxic bloom formation, but the exact mechanisms of interspecies interactions remain unknown. Using metabolomic and proteomic profiling of co-cultures of the toxic cyanobacterium Microcystis aeruginosa with a green alga as well as of microorganisms collected in a Microcystis spp. bloom in Lake Taihu (China), we disentangle novel interspecies allelopathic interactions. We describe an interspecies molecular network in which M. aeruginosa inhibits growth of Chlorella vulgaris, a model green algal competitor, via the release of linoleic acid. In addition, we demonstrate how M. aeruginosa takes advantage of the cell signaling compound nitric oxide produced by C. vulgaris, which stimulates a positive feedback mechanism of linoleic acid release by M. aeruginosa and its toxicity. Our high-throughput system-biology approach highlights the importance of previously unrecognized allelopathic interactions between a broadly distributed toxic cyanobacterial bloom former and one of its algal competitors.
authors.affiliation: College of Environment, Zhejiang University of Technology, Hangzhou, China.
authors.forename: Hao
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Song
authors.affiliation: Quebec-Ocean and Takuvik Joint International Research Unit, Université Laval, Lavel, QC, Canada.
authors.forename: Michel
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Lavoie
authors.affiliation: College of Biotechnology and Bioengineering, Zhejiang University of Technology, Hangzhou, China.
authors.forename: Xiaoji
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Fan
authors.affiliation: College of Biotechnology and Bioengineering, Zhejiang University of Technology, Hangzhou, China.
authors.forename: Hana
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Tan
authors.affiliation: College of Environment, Zhejiang University of Technology, Hangzhou, China.
authors.forename: Guangfu
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: College of Environment, Zhejiang University of Technology, Hangzhou, China.
authors.forename: Pengfei
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.affiliation: College of Biotechnology and Bioengineering, Zhejiang University of Technology, Hangzhou, China.
authors.forename: Zhengwei
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Fu
authors.affiliation: Institute of Marine Sciences, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Morehead City, NC, USA.|College of Environment, Hohai University, Nanjing, China.
authors.forename: Hans W
authors.initials: HW
authors.lastname: Paerl
authors.affiliation: College of Environment, Zhejiang University of Technology, Hangzhou, China.|Xinjiang Key Laboratory of Environmental Pollution and Bioremediation, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Urumqi, China.
authors.forename: Haifeng
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Qian
mesh_terms: D064089:Allelopathy / Q000502:physiology*; D048408:Chlorella vulgaris / Q000502:physiology*; D018920:Coculture Techniques; D000458:Cyanobacteria / Q000254:growth & development; D019787:Linoleic Acid / Q000494:pharmacology*; D046931:Microcystis / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology*; D009569:Nitric Oxide / Q000494:pharmacology*; D040901:Proteomics
chemical_list: D009569:Nitric Oxide; D019787:Linoleic Acid