Algal-bacterial interactions during freshwater algal blooms
Characterization of algal blooms affecting Wyoming irrigation infrastructure; microbiological groundwork for more effective management
Funding: USGS-43613P28 (USDA/Wyoming Water Resource Program) 03/01/09-02/28/11
Eutrophication, resulting from increased nutrient input into a water body, is one of the most pervasive water quality problems in the United States, affecting lakes, estuaries, streams, and wetlands. Eutrophication is often driven by human activities such as agriculture, where fertilizer run-off and soil erosion are major sources of the nutrient load. The effects of eutrophication include algal/cyanobacteria blooms, leading to hypoxia of the water column and subsequent decline in submerged vegetation, and fish kills.
Locally, management of algal blooms represents a significant cost to maintaining the irrigation infrastructure in Wyoming. The effectiveness and environmental impact of these algae treatment strategies are not well understood. It is very difficult to estimate or monitor the total amount of algaecides released into the environment, and the full range of species affected remains unknown. Development of more effective algae treatment strategies is hampered by a knowledge gap: we have not identified the key algal and bacterial species and processes involved in establishing, maintaining, and degrading algal blooms in Wyoming lakes.
We propose to address this knowledge gap and thus provide a sound microbiological foundation for long-term development of more targeted, effective algae treatment strategies. In order to achieve this objective, we will (1) Characterize algae/cyanobacteria species responsible for blooms, (2) Characterize the role of bloom-associated bacteria, and (3) Develop model systems to test bacterial/algal interactions. Our long-term goal is to anticipate the type and severity of the bloom and propose predictive management strategies (as opposed to the reactive treatment protocols currently employed).
Metatranscriptomic analysis of bacterial-algal interactions: an ecological foundation for enhancing algal biofuel and geoengineering initiatives
Funding: U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Joint Genome Institute (JGI) 2010 Community Sequencing Program (CSP)
Freshwater algae (both true algae and cyanobacteria) are a potentially rich source of biomass feedstock for biodiesel and hydrogen, as well as animal feed supplements, soil amendment materials, and other commercial products. They also serve as an environmental carbon dioxide sink that could be exploited through geoengineering, and a reservoir of detoxifying activity. Algaculture in open ponds is less expensive than closed-reactor growth, but is vulnerable to the activities of other pond microorganisms. We perceive a knowledge gap in the management of open-pond algal production, namely an incomplete understanding of the contribution of non-algal microorganisms to algal population dynamics. Addressing this gap would support optimization of algaculture for production of algal biofuels and other commercial products, and geoengineering approaches to enhance algal-mediated carbon sequestration.
The locally concentrated algal populations seen in algaculture and algal geoengineering are also observed during naturally occurring algal bloom events. The latter are usually perceived as an entirely negative consequence of eutrophication, resulting from increased nutrient input into a water body. However, they provide ideal conditions for studying bacterial-algal interactions relevant to algaculture and algal geoengineering. The objective of this project is to use high-throughput sequencing approaches to characterize microbial communities associated with freshwater algal blooms. We can achieve this objective by metagenomic/metatranscriptomic sequencing of populations occurring in a small urban lake with reliably recurring annual algal blooms.
