Subtropical Freshwater Cyanobacterial Blooms as Hydrogen Peroxide Hot Spots

Abstract

In aquatic environments, chemical and biological processes represent major sources of reactive oxygen species (ROS) such as hydrogen peroxide. Diurnal patterns of hydrogen peroxide in surface water may suggest photochemical processes affect ROS dynamics. We hypothesized that thin surface hydrogen peroxide maxima could be detected through millimeter-scale depth profiling. These maxima were previously overlooked because they cannot be detected using standard surface water sampling techniques. Combined field and laboratory experiments demonstrated that cyanobacterial blooms could create extremely high concentrations of hydrogen peroxide in a thin layer of surface water (5-60 mm). Hydrogen peroxide concentrations were higher within surface scums of Microcystis aeruginosa than in areas without scum. The cyanobacterial scum increased the temperature of the ambient water, and hydrogen peroxide concentrations were higher at locations exposed to sunlight that at locations in the shade. We found that scum samples directly collected from the field could release hydrogen peroxide to the surrounding water when the biomass was exposed by the light, while 20 laboratory cultures tested did not. The production of hydrogen peroxide from cyanobacteria may depend on the physiological condition of cells. Overall, we identified thin surface water layers during subtropical freshwater cyanobacterial blooms as hydrogen peroxide hot spots.