Sterol chemotaxonomy of marine pelagophyte algae.

Several marine algae of the class Pelagophyceae produce the unusual marine sterol 24-propylidenecholesterol, mainly as the (24E)-isomer. The (24Z)-isomer had previously been considered as a specific biomarker for Aureococcus anophagefferens, the 'brown tide' alga of the Northeast coast of the USA. To test this hypothesis and to generate chemotaxonomic information, the sterol compositions of 42 strains of pelagophyte algae including 17 strains of Aureococcus anophagefferens were determined by GC analysis. A more comprehensive sterol analysis by HPLC and (1)H-NMR was obtained for 17 selected pelagophyte strains. All strains analyzed contained 24-propylidenecholesterol. In all strains belonging to the order Sarcinochrysidales, this sterol was found only as the (E)-isomer, while all strains in the order Pelagomonadales contained the (Z)-isomer, either alone or together with the (E)-isomer. The occurrence of Delta(22) and 24alpha-sterols was limited to the Sarcinochrysidales. The first occurrence of Delta(22)-24-propylcholesterol in an alga, CCMP 1410, was reported. Traces of the rare sterol 26,26-dimethyl-24-methylenecholesterol were detected in Aureococcus anophagefferens, and the (25R)-configuration was proposed, based on biosynthetic considerations. Traces of a novel sterol, 24-propylidenecholesta-5,25-dien-3beta-ol, were detected in several species.

Identifying the source of unknown microcystin genes and predicting microcystin variants by comparing genes within uncultured cyanobacterial cells.

While multiple phylogenetic markers have been used in the culture-independent study of microcystin-producing cyanobacteria, in only a few instances have multiple markers been studied within individual cells, and in all cases these studies have been conducted with cultured isolates. Here, we isolate and evaluate large DNA fragments (>6 kb) encompassing two genes involved in microcystin biosynthesis (mcyA2 and mcyB1) and use them to identify the source of gene fragments found in water samples. Further investigation of these gene loci from individual cyanobacterial cells allowed for improved analysis of the genetic diversity within microcystin producers as well as a method to predict microcystin variants for individuals. These efforts have also identified the source of the novel mcyA genotype previously termed Microcystis-like that is pervasive in the Laurentian Great Lakes and they predict the microcystin variant(s) that it produces.