Comparison of cyanobacterial microcystin synthetase (mcy) E gene transcript levels, mcy E gene copies, and biomass as indicators of microcystin risk under laboratory and field conditions.

ABSTRACT: Increased incidences of mixed assemblages of microcystin-producing and nonproducing cyanobacterial strains in freshwater bodies necessitate development of reliable proxies for cyanotoxin risk assessment. Detection of microcystin biosynthetic genes in water blooms of cyanobacteria is generally indicative of the presence of potentially toxic cyanobacterial strains. Although much effort has been devoted toward elucidating the microcystin biosynthesis mechanisms in many cyanobacteria genera, little is known about the impacts of co-occurring cyanobacteria on cellular growth, mcy gene expression, or mcy gene copy distribution. The present study utilized conventional microscopy, qPCR assays, and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay to study how competition between microcystin-producing Microcystis a

SUBMITTER: Ngwa FF 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4287171 | biostudies-literature | 2014 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature