Phylogeny and biogeography of cyanobacteria and their produced toxins

Abstract

Phylogeny is an evolutionary reconstruction of the past relationships of DNA or protein sequences and it can further be used as a tool to assess population structuring, genetic diversity and biogeographic patterns. In the microbial world, the concept that everything is everywhere is widely accepted. However, it is much debated whether microbes are easily dispersed globally or whether they, like many macro-organisms, have historical biogeographies. Biogeography can be defined as the science that documents the spatial and temporal distribution of a given taxa in the environment at local, regional and continental scales. Speciation, extinction and dispersal are proposed to explain the generation of biogeographic patterns. Cyanobacteria are a diverse group of microorganisms that inhabit a wide range of ecological niches and are well known for their toxic secondary metabolite production. Knowledge of the evolution and dispersal of these microorganisms is still limited, and further research to understand such topics is imperative. Here, we provide a compilation of the most relevant information regarding these issues to better understand the present state of the art as a platform for future studies, and we highlight examples of both phylogenetic and biogeographic studies in non-symbiotic cyanobacteria and cyanotoxins.