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. 1987 Aug;53(8):1934–1939. doi: 10.1128/aem.53.8.1934-1939.1987

Relationship between Sodium Influx and Salt Tolerance of Nitrogen-Fixing Cyanobacteria

Shree Kumar Apte 1, Bontha Rajasekhar Reddy 1, Joseph Thomas 1,*
PMCID: PMC204028  PMID: 16347419

Abstract

The relationship between sodium uptake and cyanobacterial salt (NaCl) tolerance has been examined in two filamentous, heterocystous, nitrogen-fixing species of Anabaena. During diazotrophic growth at neutral pH of the growth medium, Anabaena sp. strain L-31, a freshwater strain, showed threefold higher uptake of Na+ than Anabaena torulosa, a brackish-water strain, and was considerably less salt tolerant (50% lethal dose of NaCl, 55 mM) than the latter (50% lethal dose of NaCl, 170 mM). Alkaline pH or excess K+ (>25 mM) in the medium causes membrane depolarization and inhibits Na+ influx in both cyanobacteria (S. K. Apte and J. Thomas, Eur. J. Biochem. 154:395-401, 1986). The presence of nitrate or ammonium in the medium caused inhibition of Na+ influx accompanied by membrane depolarization. These experimental manipulations affecting Na+ uptake demonstrated a good negative correlation between Na+ influx and salt tolerance. All treatments which inhibited Na+ influx (such as alkaline pH, K+ above 25 mM, NO3−, and NH4+), enhanced salt tolerance of not only the brackish-water but also the freshwater cyanobacterium. The results indicate that curtailment of Na+ influx, whether inherent or effected by certain environmental factors (e.g., combined nitrogen, alkaline pH), is a major mechanism of salt tolerance in cyanobacteria.

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Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

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