Warfare under the waves: a review of bacteria-derived algaecidal natural products

Abstract

Covering: 1960s to 2024

Harmful algal blooms pose a major threat to aquatic ecosystems and can impact human health. The frequency and intensity of these blooms has increased over recent decades, driven primarily by climate change and an increase in nutrient runoff. Algal blooms often produce toxins that contaminate water sources, disrupt fisheries, and harm human health. These blooms may also result in oxygen-deprived environments leading to mass fish deaths that threaten the survival of other aquatic life. In freshwater and estuarine ecosystems, traditional chemical strategies to mitigate algal blooms include the use of herbicides, metal salts, or oxidants. Though effective, these agents are non-selective, toxic to other species, and cause loss of biodiversity. They can persist in ecosystems, contaminating the food web and providing an impetus for cost-effective, targeted algal-control methods that protect ecosystems. In marine ecosystems, harmful algal blooms are even more challenging to treat due to the lack of scalable solutions and the challenge of dispersal of algal control agents in open ocean settings. Natural products derived from algae-bacteria interactions have led to the evolution of diverse bacteria-derived algaecidal natural products, which are highly potent, species specific and have potential for combating harmful algal blooms. They provide valuable starting points for the development of eco-friendly algae control methods. This review provides a comprehensive overview of all bacterial algaecides and their activities, categorized into two major groups: (1) algaecides produced in ecologically significant associations between bacteria and algae, and (2) algaecides with potentially coincidental activity but without an ecological role in specific bacteria–algae interactions. This review contributes to a better understanding of the chemical ecology of parasitic algal–bacterial interactions, “the warfare under the waves”, and highlights the potential applications of bacteria-derived algaecides to provide solutions to harmful algal blooms.