Biodiversity and biotechnological potential of cyanobacteria from the region of El Jadida, Morocco

• Autor(a) principal: Gonçalves, Sara Filipa Viegas
• Data de Publicação: 2020
• Tipo de documento: Dissertação
• Idioma: eng
• Título da fonte: Repositório Científico de Acesso Aberto de Portugal (Repositórios Cientìficos)
• Texto Completo: http://hdl.handle.net/10773/30465
• topic: Cyanobacteria; Morocco; Diversity; Cyanotoxins; Biotechnological potential

Morocco has been a target of few studies despite its excellent potential for research and discovery of new species of cyanobacteria with biotechnological interest. Taking this into account, this work had as the main objective of to know the diversity of terrestrial, marine and freshwater cyanobacteria in the region of El Jadida, in Morocco. In this way, strains were isolated from samples collected in the El Jadida region. Subsequently, the isolated strains were morphologically characterized, where their main characteristics were analysed, such as color, shape, and dimensions. Then, the 16S rRNA gene of 11 isolated strains was sequenced, with that information the genus of the isolates was known and later a phylogenetic tree was built. In order to assess the toxic potential of the isolates, PCR detected the genes responsible for the production of the main cyanotoxins (cylindrospermopsin, saxitoxin, anatoxin, microcystins and nodularins). Finally, one of the isolated strains, strain 1, was selected to carry out three biotechnological tests: antioxidant, anti-obesity and anti-inflammatory. Regarding the experimental results, 15 strains of cyanobacteria were isolated, 11 filamentous and 4 cocoids. Of the 11 strains sequenced, there is a possibility that some of them are new genera of cyanobacteria, yet to be described. Of the isolated strains, 3 demonstrated toxic potential, and in 1 of them the genes responsible for the production of cylinderspermopsin were detected and in 2 of them the genes responsible for the production of nodularins were detected. Regarding biotechnological tests, strain 1 showed pro-oxidant activity and there was no anti-obesity behavior or anti-inflammatory activity. The entire project was developed in partnership with CIIMAR (Interdisciplinary Center for Marine and Environmental Research), under the EBB (European Marine Biological Resource Center Biobank) and EMERTOX (Emergent Marine Toxins in the North Atlantic and the Mediterranean) projects.