ENVIRONMENT

FGCU researchers look to viruses as a new way to combat toxic blue-green algae

Amy Bennett Williams
The News-Press

Researchers at Florida Gulf Coast University are pitting one microorganism against another in the battle for cleaner water.

The goal is to better control cyanobacteria, also called blue-green algae, the nasty, sometimes toxic stuff that periodically slimes Southwest Florida waterways.

That happened dramatically last summer, when along with saltwater red tide, inland cyanobacteria blooms in the Caloosahatchee and nearby canals ingsome 16 months, devastating wildlife, trigger a state of emergency and raising concerns about impacts on human health.

Sharon Isern, a molecular virologist at FGCU, holds a sample of cyanobacteria in her lab on Wednesday, July 3, 2019.

Renowned virologist professor Sharon Isern is working to isolate a naturally occurring bacteria-killing virus known as phage (from an ancient Latin verb “to eat”).

The most diverse and abundant organism on earth, phages number in the 10 to the 31st power, Isern said – "an impossibly large number that translates into approximately a trillion phages for every grain of sand in the world," writes Eric Keen in the scholarly paper, "A century of phage research: Bacteriophages and the shaping of modern biology."

The trick is to find the specific virus – or phage – that affects the troublesome cyanobacteria and release it into an incipient bloom. “When you see a patch, you treat that patch instead of waiting for it to be a problem,” Isern said.

Using phage (rhymes with sage) to combat bacteria is nothing new, but the therapy was upstaged early in the 20th century by the development of antibiotics. If not for antibiotics’ smashing success, phages might be much more well-known, because like antibiotics, they kill bacteria.

“The whole idea of using viruses that infect bacteria goes way back,” Isern said. “But the impetus of using phage therapy – using viruses that can control and sometimes kill the bacteria – that research got sidelined because we had antibiotics.”

Types of bacteria viruses (phage) under an electron microscope. These phage photos are from those used to treat other bacteria. FGCU professors and students are working to uncover the ones to treat blue-green algae.

Because bacteria change and evolve, she said, some have developed resistance to antibiotics. “So people have come back full circle after phage was just this little novelty,” she said. Now, “all of a sudden, it’s ‘Let’s take a look at phage,’ because this is what they do for a living: They infect bacteria."

So far, Isern said, some human trials with phage therapy have yielded promising results: Why not explore its potential for curing environmental ills as well?

“It’s kind of phage therapy for blue-green algae blooms,” she said. ”Blue-green algae is a bacteria, and as with all bacteria, it has its own viruses.” (In contrast, Karenia brevis, the microorganism that causes red tide is not a bacteria – even though it's lumped in with other harmful algal blooms – so targeting it with bacteriophage wouldn't make sense.) 

FGCU student Alicia Belony shows how she monitors water samples for concentrations of cyanobacteria at the lab on Wednesday, July 3, 2019, at Florida Gulf Coast University. The water samples come from all over Florida.

Working with senior biology student  Alicia Belony, Isern joined forces with fellow FGCU professors Scott Michael, in the Department of Biological Sciences, and Hidetoshi Urakawa, in the Department of Marine & Ecological Sciences.

As a jumpstart, Belony and Isern received an FGCU Student/Faculty Undergraduate Scholarly Collaboration Fellowship funded by the Seidler family. The team is collecting blue-green algae samples and screening to see if they have phage that will infect and grow in Microcystis, a type of blue-green algae that has caused trouble in Southwest Florida.  Once isolated, they’ll match them with local strains of blue-green algae to see if they kill them.

"Once we characterize them, we’ll brew up a batch,” Isern said. “Each particle that gets into that bacteria then gets into that host, produces more phage and then spreads ... As opposed to a chemical treatment, where you have to get at each bacterial cell, with phage, if you can introduce it somewhere and have those bacteria make more phage, that amplifies the process."

Sharon Isern, a molecular virologist at FGCU, shows samples of cyanobacteria in her lab on Wednesday, July 3, 2019.

Communicating the research to non-science folks can be a bit of a challenge, Belony admits, especially if they’ve consumed scary science-fiction on rogue microorganisms like Michael Crichton’s best-selling thriller, “The Andromeda Strain,” in which an extraterrestrial bug threatens humanity.

“I have to explain the viruses we’re trying to use are already in the water and we’re just trying to identify which of them are already doing what they naturally do, which is kill bacteria. And we just want to isolate those and amplify them to target cyanobacteria," Belony said.

The phage itself is perfectly safe for humans, Isern said. “You can swallow it, you can put it on your skin. It’s not going to hurt you.”

University of Miami professor and algae scientist Larry Brand says the steep challenge of ridding waterways of algae helps make such research into novel solutions appealing.

“The problems with the normal schemes people come up with for killing blooms is what makes the phage idea more attractive,” he wrote in an email. “The phage is species-specific and will only kill the toxic algae you target.  Also it can reproduce itself, so you do not have to add as much. 

"In reality however, there seems to be enough genetic diversity in blooms to keep the phages from killing off blooms. In my view it is an attractive idea that has simply not worked after many decades of reseaerch.”

But, Brand adds, there is a solution, although it comes with the bitter pill of controlling human behavior: “We know stopping nutrients before they are released into water bodies does work.”

More:With toxic blue-green algae bloom, don't eat Lake Okeechobee fish, Audubon biologist says

And:New Blue-Green Algae Task Force looks to farm lands for ways to improve water quality

Blue-green algae under a light microscope

Research Q & A

Who is in the research team?

Biology student, Alicia Belony, professor, Dr. Sharon Isern, and their research team at Florida Gulf Coast University are doing research on viruses that could be used to control blue-green algae (Microcystis aeruginosa) blooms in Florida waters. The project is in collaboration with Dr. Scott Michael, professor in the Department of Biological Sciences, Dr. Hidetoshi Urakawa, professor in the Department of Marine & Ecological Sciences, both at FGCU, and their students. This summer Alicia Belony and Professor Isern are recipients of an FGCU Student/Faculty Undergraduate Scholarly Collaboration Fellowship funded by the Seidler family to jumpstart the research.

What do we propose to do?

In the summer of 2018, there was a huge influx of blue-green algae blooms in Southwest Florida waters. We want to use bacterial viruses to control blue-green algae blooms. Toxic blue-green algae is a kind of photosynthetic bacteria, like a single-celled plant. Viruses called phage infect bacteria and can control them.

Why is this an exciting approach?

At every level of ecology, there is an underlying level that controls it. For example, humans rely on the things that we eat, and the things that we eat rely on other things – a food chain. At the very base of every food chain, there are viruses killing bacteria. The word phage, literally means to eat. In land and water ecological systems, bacteria populations are controlled by phage. The phage can either kill bacteria or live inside them. If they live inside them, they bring in new genes and abilities.

How do we propose to do it?

Phage are found in the environment already. So we are collecting blue-green algae samples and screening to see if they have phage that will infect and grow in Microcystis. Then we will test them against local strains of blue-green algae. If they kill the local strains, these viruses could be used to treat local blooms. Has this approach been used before?

People are using phage to kill drug resistant bacteria in patients. This is known as phage therapy. There are also groups in China and Japan that are publishing on phage found in algae. They are talking about using them to control blooms, but we don’t know of anybody who has actually tried it yet.

 Is there a risk that phage could be harmful to people or other organisms in our environment?

No. Phage are very specific and only infect certain kinds of bacteria. The ones that infect blue-green algae will only infect blue-green algae.

Do you anticipate any challenges?

Bacteria are notorious for being able to develop resistance to anything that you do. So we are going into this with the mindset that a single virus is not going to be sufficient. It will be important to have a phage “cocktail” or “arsenal” at the ready. Phage are extremely diverse. We want to use this diversity against the bacteria. We know phage are out there. We and others look for phage in other bacteria and have found lots of different ones. We don’t anticipate that finding phage will be a problem.

How long will this study take?

It’s difficult to predict. We are in the early stages of the work. We are currently screening blue-green algae samples for the presence of phage. Once we isolate phage, we will characterize them and test them for their ability to control blue-green algae blooms.

— Source: Florida Gulf Coast University

JOIN THE CONVERSATION

The Save Our Water Solutions Group on Facebook is a popular place to engage with others about water quality issues in Florida, share content and play a part in solving the challenges that face our communities.

Go to: https://www.facebook.com/groups/saveourwaterflorida/

SAVE OUR WATER SUMMIT

Presented by: USA TODAY-Florida Network

When: Aug. 21 – 7:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

Where: Hyatt Regency Coconut Point, Bonita Springs

Who: Top experts and officials from around the state, including Department of Environmental Protection Secretary Noah Valenstein, will address a range of subjects including public health challenges, solutions, legislation and projects progress.

Tickets: $50 (open seating includes buffet breakfast sponsored by the Conservancy of Southwest Florida)

Register: tickets.news-press.com