Occurrence of volatile nitrogen-containing compounds in nitrogen-fixing cyanobacterium Aphanizomenon flos-aquae

The occurrence of volatile nitrogen-containing compounds in the cyanobacterium Aphanizomenon flos-aquae has been studied. Twenty compounds belonging to four groups - amides of carboxylic and fatty acids, heterocyclic compounds and their derivatives, aromatics, and alkoxyamines and amides were identified by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry that used serially coupled capillary columns with different polarity of stationary phases. Distribution of bioactive non-toxic and toxic nitrogen-containing metabolites in cyanobacteria are discussed.