Excitation-emission matrix fluorescence and parallel factor analyses of the effects of N and P nutrients on the extracellular polymeric substances of Microcystis aeruginosa

Extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) secreted by phytoplankton can induce bloom formation, and nutrients are considered the key factors that cause algal blooms outbreak. Thus, understanding the characteristics of EPS from blooming Microcystis under the influence of nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) is important. In this study, the effects of nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) nutrients on EPS released by Microcystis aeruginosa in Lake Taihu were examined in pure cultures. The characteristics of Microcystis EPS were evaluated by excitation-emission matrix (EEM) fluorescence spectroscopy with parallel factor analysis (PARAFAC). Results indicated that the fluorescent characterization of EPS was affected more by N than by P. Low N concentration can stimulate cells to secrete large amounts of tyrosine-like substances directly into the culture medium, thus suggesting that Microcystis features a mechanism for adapting to low N conditions. Total fluorescent intensities in the EPS were significantly related to cell biomass. All fluorescent substances in the bound EPS fraction were positively and significantly correlated with Microcystis growth. As for the soluble EPS fraction, the humic-like and tryptophan-like substances were both significantly related to cell biomass, whereas only the tyrosine-like substances were significantly related to cell biomass under low N supply. PARAFAC analysis of the EEM spectra showed that N greatly affected the exudation of tyrosine-like substances and redistribution of the EPS fractions. Thus, protein like fluorophore could be used as a potential indicator to evaluate the nutritional status of cyanobacteria during cyanobacterial blooms in Lake Taihu. (C) 2016 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.