Geosmin production and polyphasic characterization of Oscillatoria limosa Agardh ex Gomont isolated from the open canal of a large drinking water system in Tianjin City, China

- Massive growth of O. limosa during LRDT leads to a strong earthy odor episode.
- Both temperature and light affected the growth and geosmin production of O. limosa.
- Geosmin production and chla were positively correlated with temperature in O. limosa.
- Geosmin production and chla were negatively correlated with light in O. limosa.
- O. limosa had a high potential harm for the release of geosmin from its cells.

Taste and odor (T & O) episodes always cause strong effects on drinking water supply system. Luanhe River diversion into Tianjin City in China is an important drinking water resource. Massive growth of a benthic filamentous cyanobacterium with geosmin production in the open canal caused a strong earthy odor episode in Tianjin. On the basis of the morphological and molecular identification of this cyanobacterium as Oscillatoria limosa Agardh ex Gomont, the genetic basis for geosmin biosynthesis and factors influencing growth and geosmin production of O. limosa CHAB 7000 were studied in this work. A 2268-bp open reading frame, encoding 755 amino acids, was amplified and characterized as the geosmin synthase gene (geo), followed by a cyclic nucleotide-binding protein gene (cnb). Phylogenetic analysis implied that the evolution of the geosmin genes in O. limosa CHAB 7000 might involve a horizontal gene transfer event. Examination on the growth and geosmin production of O. limosa CHAB 7000 at different light intensities showed that the maximum geosmin production was observed at 10 μmol photons m−2 s−1, while the optimum growth was at 60 μmol photons m−2 s−1. Under three temperature conditions (15 °C, 25 °C, and 35 °C), the maximum growth and geosmin production were observed at 25 °C. Most amounts of geosmin were retained in cells during the growth phase, but high temperature and low light intensity increased the release of geosmin into the medium, implying that O. limosa CHAB 7000 had a high potential harm for the release of geosmin from its cells at these adverse conditions.