Abstract
This study investigated the diversity and toxin production of cyanobacteria forming microbial mats on the soil surface and mangrove pneumatophores in three different mangrove swamps in the Red Sea off the southern coast of Saudi Arabia. In total, 34 species belonging to 15 genera and five families were recorded. Benthic mats had higher numbers of species (25–31) than pneumatophore mats (10–12). Cyanobacterial biodiversity (H) and species evenness (E) were greater in benthic mats (H=2.52–2.83 and E=0.79–0.83) than in pneumatophore mats (H=1.7–1.82 and E=0.73–0.74). The results showed high similarity of species between different mangrove sites (67.6%–91.7%) and low similarity between benthic and pneumatophore mats at the same site (32.3%–35.75%). During this study, only nine cyanobacterial species were successfully isolated and tested for their toxicity. The extracts of these species exhibited toxicity to Artemia salina (LC50=0.3–5.1 mg l-1). Based on the results of ELISA and HPLC analyses, four species were found to produce microcystins (683–974 μg g-1) and three species produced saxitoxins (58.9–93.8 μg g-1). The presence of toxic cyanobacteria and their toxins in mangrove swamps may pose a risk for marine animals because these toxins can accumulate in aquatic food webs with a potential for transfer to higher trophic levels.
About the author
Zakaria A. Mohamed obtained his BSc and MSc from Assiut University, Egypt, and completed his PhD at Wright State University, OH, USA. He worked as an Assistant and an Associate Professor in the Botany Department of Assiut University. From 2003 to 2011, he held a position as a Visiting Professor for teaching and research at King Khalid University, Saudi Arabia. Currently, he is a Professor of Phycology/Phycotoxins at the Botany Department, Faculty of Science, Sohag University, Egypt. He has served as a reviewer for various international journals and was an invited speaker at the 1st International Conference on Toxins in Desert Environments, Weill Cornell Medical College, Qatar (2013). His research interests focus on toxin production in freshwater and marine cyanobacteria and microalgae, and the impacts of these toxins on aquatic and terrestrial environments.
Acknowledgments
The authors would like to thank Dr. Ahmed Al-Qahtani, Research Center, Toxicology and Bioanalysis Section, King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Center, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, for LC-MS/MS analysis.
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