Inhibitory effects of sanguinarine against the cyanobacterium Microcystis aeruginosa NIES-843 and possible mechanisms of action

• Sanguinarine was found as a strong algicidal biologically derived substance.
• Sanguinarine can induce oxidative stress in the cells of Microcystis aeruginosa.
• Photosystem is a target of toxicity of sanguinarine on M. aeruginosa.
• Sanguinarine can induce DNA damage and inhibit cell division.

Sanguinarine showed strong inhibitory effect against Microcystis aeruginosa, a typical water bloom-forming and microcystins-producing cyanobacterium. The EC50 of sanguinarine against the growth of M. aeruginosa NIES-843 was 34.54 ± 1.17 μg/L. Results of chlorophyll fluorescence transient analysis indicated that all the electron donating side, accepting side, and the reaction center of the Photosystem II (PS II) were the targets of sanguinarine against M. aeruginosa NIES-843. The elevation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) level in the cells of M. aeruginosa NIES-843 upon exposure indicated that sanguinarine induced oxidative stress in the active growing cells of M. aeruginosa NIES-843. Further results of gene expression analysis indicated that DNA damage and cell division inhibition were also involved in the inhibitory action mechanism of sanguinarine against M. aeruginosa NIES-843. The inhibitory characteristics of sanguinarine against M. aeruginosa suggest that the ecological- and public health-risks need to be evaluated before its application in cyanobacterial bloom control to avoid devastating events irreversibly.