Suppression of water-bloom cyanobacterium Microcystis aeruginosa by algaecide hydrogen peroxide maximized through programmed cell death

The global expansion and intensification of toxic cyanobacterial blooms require effective algaecides. Algaecides should be selective, effective, fast-acting, and ideally suppress cyanotoxin production. In this study, whether both maximum growth suppression and minimal toxin production can be simultaneously achieved was tested with a selective algaecide H₂O₂, through its ability to induce apoptosis-like programmed cell death (AL PCD) in a common bloom species Microcystis aeruginosa. Under doses of 1−15 mg L⁻¹, non-monotonic dose-response suppression of H₂O₂ on M. aeruginosa were observed, where maximal cell death and minimal microcystin production both occurred at a moderate dose of 10 mg L⁻¹ H₂O₂. Maximal cell death was indeed achieved through AL PCD, as revealed by integrated biochemical, structural, physiological and transcriptional evidence; transcriptional profile suggested AL PCD was mediated by mazEF and lexA systems. Higher H₂O₂ doses directly led to necrosis in M. aeruginosa, while lower doses only caused recoverable stress. The integrated data showed the choice between the two modes of cell death is determined by the intracellular energy state under stress. A model was proposed for suppressing M. aeruginosa with AL PCD or necrosis. H₂O₂ was demonstrated to simultaneously maximize the suppression of both growth and microcystin production through triggering AL PCD.