Quantification of microcystin production and biodegradation rates in the western basin of Lake Erie.

ABSTRACT: Cyanobacterial biomass forecasts currently cannot predict the concentrations of microcystin, one of the most ubiquitous cyanotoxins that threaten human and wildlife health globally. Mechanistic insights into how microcystin production and biodegradation by heterotrophic bacteria change spatially and throughout the bloom season can aid in toxin concentration forecasts. We quantified microcystin production and biodegradation during two growth seasons in two western Lake Erie sites with different physicochemical properties commonly plagued by summer Microcystis blooms. Microcystin production rates were greater with elevated nutrients than under ambient conditions and were highest nearshore during the initial phases of the bloom, and production rates were lower in later bloom phases. We

SUBMITTER: Chaffin JD 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9543754 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature