Cyanobacteria (Cyanoprokaryota) have gained a lot of attention in recent years because of their potential applications in biotechnology. In this study the cyanobacterium Leptolyngbya sp. ISC 25 was identified as tolerating and effectively degrading naphthalene as a toxic compound in the environment. The cyanobacterium was treated with different concentrations of naphthalene. Physiological responses such as survival, Chlorophyll a content, photosynthesis rate and ammonium excretion were investigated in logarithmic phase of growth curve. The biodegradation ability of the cyanobacterium was measured by GC and GC/MS analysis. Results indicated that chlorophyll a concentration decreased with naphthalene increasing and was approximately zero in the presence of 1 % naphthalene, Phycobiliproteins content enhanced up to 0.2 % of naphthalene, but at higher concentrations decreased significantly. Photosynthesis rate and ammonium excretion decreased in all treatments. Results of GC analysis confirmed the degradation of naphthalene by Leptolyngbya sp. ISC 25 in comparison with control (without the cyanobacterium). The results of GC/MS analysis identified the products of naphthalene degradation by Leptolyngbya sp. ISC 25. Totally lower concentrations of naphthalene is not lethal for cyanobacterium Leptolyngbya sp. and this strain can biodegrade naphthalene to 2(4H)-benzofuranone-tetrahydro-trimethyl mainly.

Keywords: ammonium excretion, biodegradation, chlorophyll a, Leptolyngbya, naphthalene, photosynthesis

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