Distribution and population dynamics of potential anatoxin-a-producing cyanobacteria in Lake Dianchi, China

Suqin Wang; Lin Zhu; Qi Li; Genbao Li; Lin Li; Lirong Song; Nanqin Gan

doi:10.1016/j.hal.2015.07.005

Distribution and population dynamics of potential anatoxin-a-producing cyanobacteria in Lake Dianchi, China

Harmful Algae. 2015 Sep:48:63-68. doi: 10.1016/j.hal.2015.07.005. Epub 2015 Jul 28.

Authors

Suqin Wang¹, Lin Zhu¹, Qi Li², Genbao Li³, Lin Li⁴, Lirong Song⁴, Nanqin Gan⁵

Affiliations

¹ State Key Laboratory of Freshwater Ecology and Biotechnology, Institute of Hydrobiology, The Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan 430072, PR China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, PR China.
² Wuhan Foreign Language School, Wansongyuan Road 48, Wuhan 430022, PR China.
³ State Key Laboratory of Freshwater Ecology and Biotechnology, Institute of Hydrobiology, The Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan 430072, PR China. Electronic address: ligb@ihb.ac.cn.
⁴ State Key Laboratory of Freshwater Ecology and Biotechnology, Institute of Hydrobiology, The Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan 430072, PR China.
⁵ State Key Laboratory of Freshwater Ecology and Biotechnology, Institute of Hydrobiology, The Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan 430072, PR China. Electronic address: gannq@ihb.ac.cn.

PMID: 29724477
DOI: 10.1016/j.hal.2015.07.005

Abstract

The occurrence of cyanobacterial blooms is often accompanied by a variety of toxic secondary metabolites known as cyanotoxins. Anatoxin-a (ATX-a) is a highly toxic cyanobacterial neurotoxin synthesized by numerous species (e.g., Aphanizomenon, Anabaena and Oscillatoria) that has received much public attention. In this study, we used molecular methods (PCR and qPCR) to track the presence and dynamics of ATX-a-producing cyanobacteria, Aphanizomenon and Anabaena in Lake Dianchi, China based on the anaC and cpcBA-IGS genes over a 23-month period (from June 2010 to April 2012). Results revealed that Aphanizomenon was the major potential ATX-a producer in Lake Dianchi and that they were most abundant in early spring and least abundant in summer, coinciding with observed Aphanizomenon blooms. It was found that the proportion of ATX-a toxigenic cells was lower in the northern part of the lake (2.1%) than the middle (16.7%) and southern parts (19.2%). The information on the spatio-temporal distributions of ATX-a-producing cyanobacteria obtained in this study will help to build management strategies to improve water quality for public health.

Keywords: Anabaena; Anatoxin-a; Aphanizomenon; Lake Dianchi; Quantitative PCR.