Metaproteomic analysis of harmful algal bloom in the Daechung reservoir, Korea

The present study aimed to analyze the metaproteome of the microbial community comprising harmful algal bloom (HAB) in the Daechung reservoir, Korea. HAB samples located at GPS coordinates of 36°29’N latitude and 127°28’E longitude were harvested in October 2013. Microscopic observation of the HAB samples revealed red signals that were presumably caused by the autofluorescence of chlorophyll and phycocyanin in viable cyanobacteria. Metaproteomic analysis was performed by a gelbased shotgun proteomic method. Protein identification was conducted through a two-step analysis including a forward search strategy (FSS) (random search with the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI), Cyanobase, and Phytozome), and a subsequent reverse search strategy (RSS) (additional Cyanobase search with a decoy database). The total number of proteins identified by the two-step analysis (FSS and RSS) was 1.8-fold higher than that by one-step analysis (FSS only). A total of 194 proteins were assigned to 12 cyanobacterial species (99 mol%) and one green algae species (1 mol%). Among the species identified, the toxic microcystin-producing Microcystis aeruginosa NIES-843 (62.3%) species was the most dominant. The largest functional category was proteins belonging to the energy category (39%), followed by metabolism (15%), and translation (12%). This study will be a good reference for monitoring ecological variations at the meta-protein level of aquatic microalgae for understanding HAB.