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Effects of ultraviolet radiation on productivity and nitrogen fixation in the Cyanobacterium, Anabaena sp. (Newton’s strain)

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An Erratum to this article was published on 02 October 2007

Abstract

The biological effects of ultraviolet radiation (UVR; 290–400 nm), especially the UV-B (320–400 nm) component of the spectrum, include both direct and indirect effects on many cellular processes. In cyanobacteria both photosynthesis and nitrogen fixation can be affected directly by UVR, and indirectly by UVR through the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS). For the heterocystous cyanobacterium, Anabaena sp. (Newton’s strain), exposure to UVR causes a significant decline in the quantum yields of photosystem II (PSII) fluorescence and maximum productivity despite an increase in UVR absorbing compounds, mycosporine-like amino acids (MAAs), in those cells exposed to UVR. Concurrent with these observations are significant increases in the activities of superoxide dismutase indicative of an increase in the level of oxidative stress in cells exposed to UVR. Additionally, measurements of nitrogenase activity (acetylene reduction) show a significant decrease in cyanobacteria exposed to UVR, which manifests itself as a decrease in cellular nitrogen and an increase in C:N ratios. These results show that these nitrogen-fixing cyanobacteria are particularly sensitive to UVR, both its direct and indirect effects. The effects of UVR reported here add to the increasing evidence that UVR effects on this important group of prokaryotes could affect the input of new nitrogen, and the biogeochemical cycling of this essential macronutrient in terrestrial, marine, and freshwater habitats.

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Acknowledgements

This study was supported by research funding from the University of New Hampshire Hubbard Marine Program Endowment. I wish to thank Dr. Kazuo Yabe for authentic primary MAA standards, and Dr. Patrick Neale for providing the biological weighting function for UVR effects on picocyanobacterial photosynthesis.

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  1. Department of Zoology, University of New Hampshire, Durham, NH, 03824, USA

    Michael P. Lesser

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Correspondence to Michael P. Lesser.

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Handling editor: L. Naselli-Flores

An erratum to this article can be found at http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10750-007-9170-6

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Lesser, M.P. Effects of ultraviolet radiation on productivity and nitrogen fixation in the Cyanobacterium, Anabaena sp. (Newton’s strain). Hydrobiologia 598, 1–9 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10750-007-9126-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10750-007-9126-x

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