Marine toxic cyanobacteria: diversity, environmental responses and hazards.

Toxic cyanobacterial blooms have been a primary concern predominantly in the plankton of freshwater bodies. Recently, however, the toxicity of benthic cyanobacteria is increasingly attracting attention of the scientific community and environmental agencies. The occurrence of toxic strains in benthic cyanobacteria is intimately linked to our understanding of the diversity and ecological responses of these organisms under field conditions. To that effect, we are engaged in combined morphotypic and genotypic characterization (polyphasic) of benthic natural populations of cyanobacteria in tropical lagoons and coral reefs, with the objective to provide a reliable reference for further comparative work. The methods of identification based on phenotypic properties and those based on molecular tools for genotypic identification are correlated. The approach is based on identifying the occurrences of cyanobacterial benthic blooms, tested for purity and analyzed by application of molecular tools. The questions addressed include the distinction between marine and freshwater taxa, between populations in geographically separate regions as well as between their potential vs. expressed toxicity.