Immunolocalisation of microcystins in colonies of the cyanobacterium Rivularia in calcareous streams
The cyanobacterium Rivularia is often the dominant genus in unpolluted stretches of many calcareous streams. Previous studies have detected microcystins in field-collected colonies from Mediterranean streams in Spain. Because sheaths and mucilage represent a substantial part of the colonies, the localisation of microcystins within Rivularia colonies was tested with immunological methods to elucidate the role of mucilage in toxicity. Microcystins were localised inside the trichomes, in the filament sheaths and in the colonial mucilage. The presence of microcystins was also shown in some heterocysts, but no mircocystins were detected in multicellular hairs. We suggest that microcystins are important for a benthic organism growing slowly for much of the time, that some labour division may exists between the cells in the colony and that these immunological methods may be a useful alternative for microcystin detection.