Down-regulation of iron/zinc ion transport and toxin synthesis in Microcystis aeruginosa exposed to 5,4′-dihydroxyflavone

Flavonoids, common natural polyphenolic compounds from plants, have been proposed as highly effective and safe algicides. However, the molecular mechanism of flavonoids inhibiting Microcystis aeruginosa remains unclear. This study aims in exploring the global transcriptional changes and molecular docking in cyanobacterial cells in response to flavonoids. Transcriptomic analysis revealed that 5,4′-dihydroxyflavone (DHF) primarily affected the genes transcription of iron and zinc ion transport, resulting in the blockage of transport for iron (II), iron (III) and zinc (II), which eventually led to a decrease in intracellular iron and zinc content. 5,4′-DHF can also interfere with iron and zinc transport by binding to metal ion transport-related proteins, leading to eliminated biological activities in M. aeruginosa. Meanwhile, 5,4′-DHF inhibit microcystin synthesis and reduce the content of intercellular toxin by inhibiting the transcription of mcyC and binding with McyC protein, implying that 5,4′-DHF have potential to reduce the risk of microcystins in the environment. Moreover, iron starvation and down-regulation of photosynthesis-related genes transcription led to the inhibition of electron transport in photosynthetic system. These results provide more information for the inhibitory mechanism of flavonoids, and the inhibition of flavonoids on metal ion transmembrane transport provides a new perspective for the development of allelochemical algicides.