A novel cyanobacteriolytic bacterium, Bacillus cereus, isolated from a eutrophic lake

Isolation and screening of cyanobacteriolytic bacteria were carried out. Fifteen strains of cyanobacteriolytic bacteria were isolated by the double layer method using the cyanobacterium, Microcystis, as a sole nutrient. The isolate, N-14, showing the highest cyanobacteriolytic activity was identified as Bacillus cereus based on the 165 rRNA sequence. Components among the extracellular products in the culture supernatant of B. cereus were responsible for the cyanobacteriolytic activity. Lytic assay tests of culture supernatants indicated that the major substances for lytic activity could be non-proteinaceous, and hydrophilic, heat stable, and with a molecular weight of less than 2 kDa. The highest lytic activity was obtained under alkaline conditions, indicating an advantage for the practical application of water bloom control in eutrophic lakes where the pH is usually in the alkaline region. The lytic substance of B. cereus N-14 were compared with enterotoxins and an emetic toxin produced by a pathogenic strain of B. cereus, and also with a known algicide produced by Bacillus brevis, gramicidin. From these results, the lytic substance seemed to be a novel algicide.