Differential response of NaCl-Resistant mutants of the cyanobacterium Nostoc muscorum to salinity and osmotic stresses

Salt tolerant mutant of Anabaena doliolum exhibiting efficient ammonium uptake and assimilation

Effect of salinity (NaCl, 100 mM) on growth, nitrate reductase (NR) and glutamine synthetase (GS) activities, and uptake of NH4 (+) was studied in the wild type (WT) and the NaCl-tolerant mutant type (MT) of cyanobacterium Anabaena doliolum. Results obtained in the presence of salt showed significant reduction in the growth rate of both WT and MT cells of A. doliolum by about 77.8 and 40 %, respectively over without NaCl. Similarly rate of NR activity in both WT and MT strains was reduced by 45.5 and 44.5 %, respectively. On the contrary, rate of GS activity of both the WT and MT strains in the presence 100 mM of NaCl increased by 34 and 159 %, respectively. The results of this study indicate that tolerance to NaCl in A. doliolum is more dependent on NH4 (+) assimilation rather than on nitrate assimilation in relation to N-metabolism. The increased GS activity in MT cells of the cyanobacterium is possibly because of high rate of energy dependent NH4 (+) uptake.