Abstract
Cyanobacteria inhabiting lotic environments have been poorly studied and characterized in Mexico, despite their potential risks from cyanotoxin production. This article aims to fill this knowledge gap by assessing the importance of benthic cyanobacteria as potential cyanotoxin producers in central Mexican rivers through: (i) the taxonomic identification of cyanobacteria found in these rivers, (ii) the environmental characterization of their habitats, and (iii) testing for the presence of toxin producing genes in the encountered taxa. Additionally, we introduce and discuss the use of the term "CyanoHAMs" for lotic water environments. Populations of cyanobacteria were collected from ten mountain rivers and identified using molecular techniques. Subsequently, these taxa were evaluated for genes producing anatoxins and microcystins via PCR. Through RDA analyses, the collected cyanobacteria were grouped into one of three categories based on their environmental preferences for the following: (1) waters with high ionic concentrations, (2) cold-temperate waters, or (3) waters with high nutrient enrichment. Populations from six locations were identified to genus level: Ancylothrix sp., Cyanoplacoma sp., and Oxynema sp. The latter was found to contain the gene that produces anatoxins and microcystins in siliceous rivers, while Oxynema tested positive for the gene that produces microcystins in calcareous rivers. Our results suggest that eutrophic environments are not necessarily required for toxin-producing cyanobacteria. Our records of Compactonostoc, Oxynema, and Ancylothrix represent the first for Mexico. Four taxa were identified to species level: Wilmottia aff. murrayi, Nostoc tlalocii, Nostoc montejanii, and Dichothrix aff. willei, with only the first testing positive using PCR for anatoxin and microcystin-producing genes in siliceous rivers. Due to the differences between benthic growths with respect to planktonic ones, we propose the adoption of the term Cyanobacterial Harmful Algal Mats (CyanoHAMs) as a more precise descriptor for future studies.