The Effect of a Combined Hydrogen Peroxide-MlrA Treatment on the Phytoplankton Community and Microcystin Concentrations in a Mesocosm Experiment in Lake Ludoš

Harmful cyanobacteria and their toxic metabolites constitute a big challenge for the production of safe drinking water. Microcystins (MC), chemically stable hepatotoxic heptapeptides, have often been involved in cyanobacterial poisoning incidents. A desirable solution for cyanobacterial management in lakes and ponds would eliminate both excess cyanobacteria and the MC that they potentially produce and release upon lysis. Hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) has recently been advocated as an efficient means of lysing cyanobacteria in lakes and ponds, however H₂O₂ (at least when used at typical concentrations) cannot degrade MC in environmental waters. Therefore, mesocosm experiments combining the cyanobacteria-lysing effect of H₂O₂ and the MC-degrading capacity of the enzyme MlrA were set up in the highly eutrophic Lake Ludoš (Serbia). The H₂O₂ treatment decreased the abundance of the dominant cyanobacterial taxa Limnothrix sp., Aphanizomenon flos-aquae, and Planktothrix agardhii. The intracellular concentration of MC was reduced/eliminated by H₂O₂, yet the reduction of the extracellular MC could only be accomplished by supplementation with MlrA. However, as H₂O₂ was found to induce the expression of mcyB and mcyE genes, which are involved in MC biosynthesis, the use of H₂O₂ as a safe cyanobacteriocide still requires further investigation. In conclusion, the experiments showed that the combined use of H₂O₂ and MlrA is promising in the elimination of both excess cyanobacteria and their MC in environmental waters.