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Aberdeen is a city in North East Scotland. It is the third most populous city in Scotland, one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas and the United Kingdom's 39th most populous built-up area, with an official 2020 population estimate of 198,590 for the city of Aberdeen and 227,560 for the local council area. The city is 93 mi (150 km) northeast of Edinburgh and 398 mi (641 km) north of London, and is the northernmost major city in the United Kingdom. Aberdeen has a long, sandy coastline and features an oceanic climate, with cool summers and mild, rainy winters.
An algal bloom or algae bloom is a rapid increase or accumulation in the population of algae in freshwater or marine water systems. It is often recognized by the discoloration in the water from the algae's pigments. The term algae encompasses many types of aquatic photosynthetic organisms, both macroscopic multicellular organisms like seaweed and microscopic unicellular organisms like cyanobacteria. Algal bloom commonly refers to the rapid growth of microscopic unicellular algae, not macroscopic algae. An example of a macroscopic algal bloom is a kelp forest.
Cyanobacteria, also known as Cyanophyta, are a phylum of Gram-negative bacteria that obtain energy via photosynthesis. The name cyanobacteria refers to their color, giving them their other name, "blue-green algae", though modern botanists restrict the term algae to eukaryotes and do not apply it to cyanobacteria, which are prokaryotes. They appear to have originated in freshwater or a terrestrial environment. Sericytochromatia, the proposed name of the paraphyletic and most basal group, is the ancestor of both the non-photosynthetic group Melainabacteria and the photosynthetic cyanobacteria, also called Oxyphotobacteria.
Robert Gordon University, commonly called RGU, is a public university in the city of Aberdeen, Scotland. It became a university in 1992, and originated from an educational institution founded in the 18th century by Robert Gordon, a prosperous Aberdeen merchant, and various institutions which provided adult education and technical education in the 19th and early 20th centuries. It is one of two universities in the city. RGU is a campus university and its single campus in Aberdeen is at Garthdee, in the south-west of the city.
Microcystins—or cyanoginosins—are a class of toxins produced by certain freshwater cyanobacteria, commonly known as blue-green algae. Over 50 different microcystins have been discovered so far, of which microcystin-LR is the most common. Chemically they are cyclic heptapeptides produced through nonribosomal peptide synthases.
Cyanotoxins are toxins produced by cyanobacteria. Cyanobacteria are found almost everywhere, but particularly in lakes and in the ocean where, under high concentration of phosphorus conditions, they reproduce exponentially to form blooms. Blooming cyanobacteria can produce cyanotoxins in such concentrations that they poison and even kill animals and humans. Cyanotoxins can also accumulate in other animals such as fish and shellfish, and cause poisonings such as shellfish poisoning.
Ferdinand von Prondzynski is a former university leader in Ireland and Scotland, a lawyer and legal academic, and a high-profile public commentator. Formerly the Principal and Vice-Chancellor of the Robert Gordon University in Aberdeen, Scotland, he also previously served as the second President of Dublin City University (DCU) in Ireland (2000-2010), and before that as a professor and dean at the University of Hull, and lecturer and Fellow at Trinity College Dublin.
Anatoxin-a, also known as Very Fast Death Factor (VFDF), is a secondary, bicyclic amine alkaloid and cyanotoxin with acute neurotoxicity. It was first discovered in the early 1960s in Canada, and was isolated in 1972. The toxin is produced by multiple genera of cyanobacteria and has been reported in North America, South America, Central America, Europe, Africa, Asia, and Oceania. Symptoms of anatoxin-a toxicity include loss of coordination, muscular fasciculations, convulsions and death by respiratory paralysis. Its mode of action is through the nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (nAchR) where it mimics the binding of the receptor's natural ligand, acetylcholine. As such, anatoxin-a has been used for medicinal purposes to investigate diseases characterized by low acetylcholine levels. Due to its high toxicity and potential presence in drinking water, anatoxin-a poses a threat to animals, including humans. While methods for detection and water treatment exist, scientists have called for more research to improve reliability and efficacy. Anatoxin-a is not to be confused with guanitoxin, another potent cyanotoxin that has a similar mechanism of action to that of anatoxin-a and is produced by many of the same cyanobacteria genera, but is structurally unrelated.
Aphanizomenon is a genus of cyanobacteria that inhabits freshwater lakes and can cause dense blooms. They are unicellular organisms that consolidate into linear (non-branching) chains called trichomes. Parallel trichomes can then further unite into aggregates called rafts. Since Aphanizomenon is a genus in the cyanobacteria phylum. Bacteria in the Cyanobacteria phylum are known for using photosynthesis to create energy and therefore use sunlight as their energy source. Aphanizomenon bacteria also play a big role in the Nitrogen cycle since they can perform nitrogen fixation. Studies on the species Aphanizomenon flos-aquae have shown that it can regulate buoyancy through light-induced changes in turgor pressure. It is also able to move by means of gliding, though the specific mechanism by which this is possible is not yet known.
A harmful algal bloom (HAB) is an algal bloom that causes negative impacts to other organisms via production of natural algae-produced toxins, mechanical damage to other organisms, or by other means. HABs are sometimes defined as only those algal blooms that produce toxins, and sometimes as any algal bloom that can result in severely lower oxygen levels in natural waters, killing organisms in marine or fresh waters. Blooms can last from a few days to many months. After the bloom dies, the microbes that decompose the dead algae use up more of the oxygen, generating a "dead zone" which can cause fish die-offs. When these zones cover a large area for an extended period of time, neither fish nor plants are able to survive. Harmful algal blooms in marine environments are often called "red tides".
Robert Michael Pittilo was a British biologist and Principal and vice-chancellor of the Robert Gordon University, in Aberdeen, Scotland. Pittilo worked in research and education for most of his adult life, holding a number of positions at universities throughout the United Kingdom, notably as Foundation Dean of the Faculty of Health and Social Care Sciences at Kingston University and St George's, University of London, and as Pro Vice-Chancellor of the University of Hertfordshire.
Microcystis is a genus of freshwater cyanobacteria that includes the harmful algal bloom-forming Microcystis aeruginosa. Many members of a Microcystis community can produce neurotoxins and hepatotoxins, such as microcystin and cyanopeptolin. Communities are often a mix of toxin-producing and nonproducing isolates.
Dame Lesley Anne Glover is a Scottish biologist and academic. She was Professor of molecular biology and cell biology at the University of Aberdeen before being named Vice Principal for External Affairs and Dean for Europe. She served as Chief Scientific Adviser to the President of the European Commission from 2012 to 2014. In 2018 she joined the Principal's senior advisory team at the University of Strathclyde.
Moshe Shilo (1920–1990) was a microbiologist working in the field of aquatic microbiology, at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. He was influential in the development of modern microbial ecology. He was a life-long member of the American Society for Microbiology and was honored by being appointed their 1967 ONR lecturer, and by receiving the 1978 Fisher Award in Applied and Environmental Microbiology.
Alison Gail Smith, Lady Hopper is Professor of Plant Biochemistry in the Department of Plant Sciences at the University of Cambridge, UK. Her research investigates the metabolism of plants, algae and bacteria, in particular vitamin and cofactor biosynthesis.
Tracy Palmer is a Professor of Microbiology in the Biosciences Institute at Newcastle University in Tyne & Wear, England. She is known for her work on the twin-arginine translocation (Tat) pathway.
Valerie J. Paul is the Director of the Smithsonian Marine Station at Fort Pierce, in Fort Pierce, FL since 2002 and the Head Scientist of the Chemical Ecology Program. She is interested in marine chemical ecology, and specializes in researching the ecology and chemistry of Cyanobacteria, blue-green algae, booms. She has been a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science since 1996, and was the chairperson of the Marine Natural Products Gordon Research Conference in 2000.
Linda Louise Blackall is an Australian microbiologist who has studied microbial communities and their applications in water management. She is professor of environmental microbiology at the University of Melbourne.
Joyce Lishman the first woman Professor at Robert Gordon University, was a leader in social work education and research.
Susanna Wood is a New Zealand scientist whose research focuses on understanding, protecting and restoring New Zealand's freshwater environments. One of her particular areas of expertise is the ecology, toxin production, and impacts of toxic freshwater cyanobacteria in lakes and rivers. Wood is active in advocating for the incorporation of DNA-based tools such as metabarcoding, genomics and metagenomics for characterising and understanding aquatic ecosystems and investigating the climate and anthropogenic drivers of water quality change in New Zealand lakes. She has consulted for government departments and regional authorities and co-leads a nationwide programme Lakes380 that aims to obtain an overview of the health of New Zealand's lakes using paleoenvironmental reconstructions. Wood is a senior scientist at the Cawthron Institute. She has represented New Zealand in cycling.
References
- 1 2 3 "Linda Lawton – 11th International Conference on Toxic Cyanobacteria" . Retrieved 25 June 2021.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Professor Linda Lawton". rgu-repository.worktribe.com. Retrieved 25 June 2021.
- 1 2 "North-east scientists take the fight against cancer and superbugs to '˜treasure trove' of new drugs". www.mearnsleader.co.uk. Retrieved 25 June 2021.
- ↑ "An interview with Professor Linda Lawton". microbiologysociety.org. Retrieved 25 June 2021.
- ↑ "The RSE announces 2021 Fellows". The Royal Society of Edinburgh. 30 March 2021. Retrieved 25 June 2021.
- 1 2 3 "Linda Lawton".
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - 1 2 Lawton. "Linda". orcid.org. Retrieved 25 June 2021.
- ↑ "Linda A Lawton". scholar.google.com. Retrieved 25 June 2021.
- ↑ Wyllie, James. "Aberdeen scientists in £2m to eliminate toxins from Sri Lanka's waters". Press and Journal. Retrieved 25 June 2021.
- ↑ "Scientific breakthroughs on Scottish university campuses". Holyrood Website. 3 November 2020. Retrieved 25 June 2021.
- ↑ "M&Ms 'make water taste better'". 6 November 2003. Retrieved 25 June 2021.
- ↑ "Major funding granted to CyanoSol, Robert Gordon University". Algal Solutions For Local Energy Economy (ASLEE). 31 March 2017. Retrieved 25 June 2021.
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