Using Microcystin Gene Copies to Determine Potentially-Toxic Blooms, Example from a Shallow Eutrophic Lake Peipsi.

ABSTRACT: Global warming, paired with eutrophication processes, is shifting phytoplankton communities towards the dominance of bloom-forming and potentially toxic cyanobacteria. The ecosystems of shallow lakes are especially vulnerable to these changes. Traditional monitoring via microscopy is not able to quantify the dynamics of toxin-producing cyanobacteria on a proper spatio-temporal scale. Molecular tools are highly sensitive and can be useful as an early warning tool for lake managers. We quantified the potential microcystin (MC) producers in Lake Peipsi using microscopy and quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) and analysed the relationship between the abundance of the mcyE genes, MC concentration, MC variants and toxin quota per mcyE gene. We also linked environmental fa

SUBMITTER: Panksep K 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7232469 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature