Effects of temperature on morphology, physiology, and metabolic profile of diazotrophic cyanobacteria inhabiting diverse habitats

Global population expansion has increased the demand for food supply and agricultural productivity. Abiotic stressors like temperature have significantly restricted agriculture in cropland and jeopardized food security. Cyanobacteria play a crucial role in fostering sustainable agriculture and ensuring global food security. In the present study, we have assessed the effect of temperatures on diazotrophic free living rice-field and hot-spring cyanobacteria. They were treated to a variable range of temperatures to see the changes in cellular morphology, physiology, and biochemical characteristics. The rise of temperatures induces growth (60 %), total protein (54 %) contents of rice-field cyanobacterium until 25 °C, further treatment results in decline (20 %) at 45 °C. However, growth indices were increased till 35 °C (90 %) in hot-spring cyanobacterium and further treatment did not exhibit a significant decline in the same. However, the reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation and lipid peroxidation (LPO) were higher in rice-field (2.8 and 1.7 fold) as compared to hot-spring cyanobacterium (2.2 and 1.6 fold). In response to temperature, enzymatic antioxidant contents were much higher in hot-spring as compared to rice-field cyanobacterium. Similarly, carotenoid and carbohydrate content was also higher in hot spring (2 fold) as compared to rice-field cyanobacterium (1.5 and 1.2 fold). All these data collectively suggest that hot-spring (Nostoc sp. strain VKB02) has a higher thermoprotective capacity with novel defense mechanisms as compared to rice-field cyanobacterium (Anabaena sp. strain VKB01). These findings contributed to a better understanding of the temperature stress, improvement of agricultural productivity and future welfare of green ecosystems.