Abstract
Microcystins (MCs) are the most studied toxins of cyanobacteria in freshwater bodies worldwide. However, they are poorly documented in coastal waters in several parts of the world. In this study, we investigated the composition of cyanobacteria and the presence of microcystins (MCs) in several coastal aquatic ecosystems of Nigeria. Direct morphological analysis revealed that members of the genus Oscillatoria were dominant with five species, followed by Trichodesmium with two species in Nigerian coastal waters. Oso Ibanilo had the highest cyanobacterial biomass (998 × 103 cells/L), followed by Rivers Ocean (156 × 103 cells/L). Except for the Cross River Ocean, cyanobacteria were present in all the investigated aquatic ecosystems. Ten (10) out of twenty water bodies examined had detectable levels of MCs. Furthermore, genomic DNA analysis for the mcyE gene of microcystin synthetase (mcy) cluster showed identities higher than 86% (query coverage > 96%) with toxic strains of cyanobacteria in all the samples analyzed. Also, the sequences of samples matched those of uncultured cyanobacteria from recreational lakes in Southern Germany. Our findings indicate that the presence of toxic cyanobacteria in coastal waters of Nigeria is of public and environmental health concern.
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Abbreviations
- MCs:
-
Microcystins
- PCR:
-
Polymerase chain reaction
- NRPSs:
-
Nonribosomal peptide synthetases
- PKSs:
-
Polyketide synthases
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Funding
This study was sponsored by grants from the São Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP—2013/15296-2), the Brazilian National Research Council (CNPq—442083/2014-9), and Nigerian Tertiary Education Trust Fund National Research grant (TETF/NRF 2009). A.S.L. and M.A.C. were supported by FAPESP post-doctoral fellowships (Grant 2014/01913-2 and Grant 2014/26898-6 and 2013/11306-3).
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MOK, SI, JUO, OAO, TEU, and MAC conceived and designed the experiments. MOK, SI, JUO, OAO, and TEU carried out the experiments. MOK, MAC, and ASL analyzed the data. MOK, MAC, MCBO, and ASL wrote the manuscript.
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Kadiri, M.O., Isagba, S., Ogbebor, J.U. et al. The presence of microcystins in the coastal waters of Nigeria, from the Bights of Bonny and Benin, Gulf of Guinea. Environ Sci Pollut Res 27, 35284–35293 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-020-09740-x
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-020-09740-x