The neurotoxin β-N-methylamino-L-alanine (BMAA) is an environmental factor connected to neurodegenerative diseases. BMAA can be produced by various microorganisms (e.g. bacteria, cyanobacteria, dinoflagellates and diatoms) present in diverse ecosystems. No previous study has revealed the function of BMAA in diatoms. In the present study, we combined physiological data with metabolomic and transcriptional data in order to investigate the effect and function of BMAA in the diatom Phaeodactylum tricornutum. P. tricornutum, exposed to different concentrations of exogenous BMAA, showed concentration dependent responses. When the concentration of supplemented BMAA was sufficient to arrest the growth of P. tricornutum, oxidative stress and obstructed carbon fixation were obtained from the specific metabolite and transcriptional data. Results also indicated increased concentration of intracellular chlorophyll a and alterations in the GS-GOGAT cycle, whereas the urea cycle was suppressed. We therefore conclude that BMAA represents a toxic metabolite able to control the growth of P. tricornutum by triggering oxidative stress, and further influencing photosynthesis and nitrogen metabolisms.

The neurotoxic secondary metabolite β-N-methylamino-L-alanine (BMAA) and its structural isomer 2,4-diaminobutyric acid (DAB) are known to be produced by various phytoplankton groups. Despite the worldwide spread of these toxin producers, no obvious role and function of BMAA and DAB in diatoms have been identified. Here, we investigated the effects of biotic factors, i.e., predators and competitors, as possible causes of BMAA and/or DAB regulation in the two diatom species Phaeodactylum tricornutum and Thalassiosira pseudonana. DAB was specifically regulated in T. pseudonana by the presence of predators and competitors. The effects of DAB on both diatoms as competitors and on the copepod Tigriopus sp. as predator at individual and at population levels were examined. The toxic effects of DAB on the growth of T. pseudonana and the population of Tigriopus sp. were significant. The effect of DAB as a defensive secondary metabolite is assumed to be environmentally relevant depending on the number of the copepods. The results show a potential function of DAB that can play an important role in defense mechanisms of T. pseudonana.

The neurotoxin β-N-methylamino-L-alanine (BMAA), a non-proteinogenic amino acid produced by several species of both prokaryotic (cyanobacteria) and eukaryotic (diatoms) microorganisms, has been proposed to be associated with the development of neurodegenerative diseases. At first, BMAA appeared to be ubiquitously present worldwide in various organisms, from aquatic and terrestrial food webs. However, recent studies, using detection methods based on mass spectrometry, instead of fluorescence detection, suggest that the trophic transfer of BMAA is debatable. This study evaluated BMAA in 22 cetaceans of three different species (Phocoena phocoena, n = 8, Delphinus delphis, n = 8, and Tursiops truncatus, n = 6), found stranded in North-West Spain. BMAA analysis of the liver, kidney, or muscle tissues via sensitive liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry did not reveal the presence of this compound or its isomers. The absence recorded in this study highlights the need to better understand the trophic transfer of BMAA and its anatomical distribution in marine mammals.

The neurotoxic non-protein amino acid beta-N-methylamino-l-alanine (BMAA) is connected to the development of neurodegenerative diseases. BMAA has been shown to accumulate in aquatic ecosystems, and filter-feeding molluscs seem particularly susceptible to BMAA accumulation. The blue mussels farmed along the Swedish coastline in the Baltic Sea are, due to their small size, exclusively used to produce feed for chicken and fish in the agro-aqua cycle. We have investigated the possible biotransfer of BMAA from mussels, via mussel-based feed, into chickens. Chickens were divided into two groups, the control and the treatment. BMAA was extracted from the muscle, liver, brain, and eye tissues in both chicken groups; a UPLC-MS/MS method was subsequently used to quantify BMAA. The results indicate detectable concentrations of BMAA in both chicken groups. However, the BMAA concentration in chicken was 5.65 times higher in the treatment group than the control group, with the highest concentration found in muscle tissue extracted from the treatment group chickens. These data suggest that there is a BMAA transfer route within the agro-aqua cycle, so further investigation is recommended before using mussel-based feed in the chicken industry.

Cyanobacteria belonging to the genus Nostoc comprise free-living strains and also facultative plant symbionts. Symbiotic strains can enter into symbiosis with taxonomically diverse range of host plants. Little is known about genomic changes associated with evolutionary transition of Nostoc from free-living to plant symbiont. Here, we compared the genomes derived from 11 symbiotic Nostoc strains isolated from different host plants and infer phylogenetic relationships between strains. Phylogenetic reconstructions of 89 Nostocales showed that symbiotic Nostoc strains with a broad host range, entering epiphytic and intracellular or extracellular endophytic interactions, form a monophyletic Glade indicating a common evolutionary history. A polyphyletic origin was found for Nostoc strains which enter only extracellular symbioses, and inference of transfer events implied that this trait was likely acquired several times in the evolution of the Nostocales. Symbiotic Nostoc strains showed enriched functions in transport and metabolism of organic sulfur, chemotaxis and motility, as well as the uptake of phosphate, branched-chain amino acids, and ammonium. The genomes of the intracellular Glade differ from that of other Nostoc strains, with a gain/enrichment of genes encoding proteins to generate i-methionine from sulfite and pathways for the degradation of the plant metabolites vanillin and vanillate, and of the macromolecule xylan present in plant cell walls. These compounds could function as C-sources for members of the intracellular Glade. Molecular clock analysis indicated that the intracellular Glade emerged ca. 600 Ma, suggesting that intracellular Nostoc symbioses predate the origin of land plants and the emergence of their extant hosts.

Dinitrogen (N₂)-fixation by cyanobacteria in symbiosis with feathermosses is the primary pathway of biological N input into boreal forests. Despite its significance, little is known about the cyanobacterial gene repertoire and regulatory rewiring needed for the establishment and maintenance of the symbiosis. To determine gene acquisitions and regulatory changes allowing cyanobacteria to form and maintain this symbiosis, we compared genomically closely related symbiotic-competent and incompetent Nostoc strains, using a proteogenomics approach and an experimental setup allowing for controlled chemical and physical contact between partners. Thirty-two gene families were found only in the genomes of symbiotic strains, including some never before associated with cyanobacterial symbiosis. We identified conserved orthologs that were differentially expressed in symbiotic strains, including protein families involved in chemotaxis and motility, NO regulation, sulfate/phosphate transport, and glycosyl-modifying and oxidative stress-mediating exoenzymes. The physical moss-cyanobacteria epiphytic symbiosis is distinct from other cyanobacteria-plant symbioses, with Nostoc retaining motility, and lacking modulation of N₂-fixation, photosynthesis, GS-GOGAT cycle, and heterocyst formation. The results expand our knowledgebase of plant-cyanobacterial symbioses, provide a model of information and material exchange in this ecologically significant symbiosis, and suggest new currencies, namely nitric oxide and aliphatic sulfonates, may be involved in establishing and maintaining the cyanobacteria-feathermoss symbiosis. 

In boreal forests, N₂-fixation by filamentous heterocystous cyanobacteria in symbiosis with pleurocarpous feathermosses represent the main biological input of new nitrogen (N), and greatly support the surrounding forest productivity. In these ecosystems, climate change is expected to result in 2-8°C increase in temperature and two times greater carbon dioxide (CO₂) over the next century, yet little is known about the effects of these factors on the community composition of cyanobacteria in symbiosis with feathermosses. In particular, it is unknown how N₂-fixation activity will change and the resulting impact on the moss growth rate (MGR). Here, we reconstructed the symbiosis between the common feathermoss Pleurozium schreberi and different cyanobacteria isolated from feathermosses. Feathermosses were inoculated with different strains of cyanobacteria and exposed to different temperature (11°C and 19°C) and CO₂ (500 ppm and 1000 ppm) conditions. Changes in MGR, N₂-fixation rate, and cyanobacterial community structure and composition were measured at distinct time points: 5, 10, 20, and 30 weeks of exposure. Our results indicate that both elevated temperature and CO₂ levels can individually and combined have positive effects on the N₂-fixation activities, and consequently on MGR. The underlying biotic mechanisms for increased N₂-fixation and MGR were changes in the cyanobacterial community diversity and composition.  In general, we observed a reduction in cyanobacterial diversity and an increase in cyanobacterial strain abundance that have adapted and dominated under the elevated temperature and CO₂ levels. 

The cyanobacteria belonging to the genus Nostoc comprise free-living strains but also facultative plant-symbionts. Symbiotic strains can enter into symbiosis with a taxonomically diverse range of host plants. Little is known about genomic changes associated with evolutionary transition of Nostoc from free-living to plant symbiont. Here we compared the genomes derived from eleven symbiotic Nostoc strains isolated from different host plants and infer phylogenetic relationships between strains. Phylogenetic reconstructions of 89 Nostocales showed that symbiotic Nostoc strains with a broad host range, entering epiphytic and intracellular or extracellular endophytic interactions, form a monophyletic clade indicating a common evolutionary history. A polyphyletic origin was found for Nostoc strains which enter only extracellular symbioses, suggesting that this trait was most likely gained several times in the evolution of the Nostocales. Facultative symbiotic Nostoc strains showed enriched functions in the transport and metabolism of organic sulfur, chemotaxis and motility, as well as the uptake of phosphate, amino acid and ammonium. The genomes of the intracellular clade differ from that of other Nostoc strains by a gain/enrichment of genes encoding proteins to generate L-methionine from sulfite and pathways for the degradation of the plant metabolites vanillin and vanillate, and of the macromolecule xylan present in plant cell-walls. These compounds could function as C sources for members of the intracellular clade. Molecular clock analysis suggested that the intracellular clade emerged ~600 million years ago, which would predate the origin of land plants. This suggest that intracellular cyanobacterial symbioses may have even predated the emergence of extant terrestrial plants.