Characterization of the cyanobacterial biocoenosis of a freshwater reservoir in Italy

The study of natural populations of cyanobacteria is both a scientifically stimulating task and, due to the increasing occurrence of blooms of toxic cyanobacteria, an emerging need for the protection of human health. The EC-funded research project MIDI-CHIP is devoted to boost the knowledge of the cyanobacterial biodiversity in freshwater ecosystems through the integrated use of morphological and molecular characterisations. In the mainframe of this project, the succession of the cyanobacterial populations in lakes and basins in Northern, Central and Southern Europe is followed. The Bubano Basin, located in the Emilia Romagna region, in Northern Italy, has been chosen because of its importance as a drinking water reservoir. The determination of the seasonal succession of cyanobacterial types in the Bubano Basin has been the core of our work during the first year and half of activity in the frame of the project MIDI-CHIP. All the water samples have been photographed and cyanobacteria identified on the basis of their characteristic morphology in nature. As many cyanobacterial morphotypes as possible present in the natural samples have been isolated and characterised. All the unicyanobacterial strains are maintained in the culture collection of the CSMA-CNR. In parallel, the characterisation of the cyanobacterial population has been carried on with the Temperature Gradient Gel Electrophoresis (TGGE) technique.