Genetic variability associated with photosynthetic pigment concentration, and photochemical and nonphotochemical quenching, in strains of the cyanobacterium Microcystis aeruginosa

Although populations of cyanobacteria are usually considered to be clonal, their capacity to survive environmental changes suggests intrapopulation genetic variation. We therefore estimated the genetic variability on the basis of two processes important for any photoautotroph - photochemical and nonphotochemical quenching - as well as photosynthetic pigment concentrations. For this purpose, two parameters related to photochemical and nonphotochemical quenching were measured using specific experimental and statistical procedures, in 25 strains of the cyanobacterium Microcystis aeruginosa, along with their contents of chlorophyll a, total carotenoids and phycocyanin. The experimental procedure allowed discrimination between genetic and nongenetic (or residual) variability among strains. The high genetic variability found in photosynthetic pigments and both photosynthetic parameters denotes large differences even among strains isolated from the same community. The high genetic diversity within a population could be important for the evolutionary success of cyanobacteria.