Potentially Toxic Planktic and Benthic Cyanobacteria in Slovenian Freshwater Bodies: Detection by Quantitative PCR
Due to increased frequency of cyanobacterial blooms and emerging evidence of cyanotoxicity in biofilm, reliable methods for early cyanotoxin threat detection are of major importance for protection of human, animal and environmental health. To complement the current methods of risk assessment, this s...
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| Format: | Article |
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MDPI AG
2021-02-01
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| Series: | Toxins |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6651/13/2/133 |
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| author | Maša Zupančič Polona Kogovšek Tadeja Šter Špela Remec Rekar Leonardo Cerasino Špela Baebler Aleksandra Krivograd Klemenčič Tina Eleršek |
| author_facet | Maša Zupančič Polona Kogovšek Tadeja Šter Špela Remec Rekar Leonardo Cerasino Špela Baebler Aleksandra Krivograd Klemenčič Tina Eleršek |
| author_sort | Maša Zupančič |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Due to increased frequency of cyanobacterial blooms and emerging evidence of cyanotoxicity in biofilm, reliable methods for early cyanotoxin threat detection are of major importance for protection of human, animal and environmental health. To complement the current methods of risk assessment, this study aimed to evaluate selected qPCR assays for detection of potentially toxic cyanobacteria in environmental samples. In the course of one year, 25 plankton and 23 biofilm samples were collected from 15 water bodies in Slovenia. Three different analyses were performed and compared to each other; qPCR targeting <i>mcyE</i>, <i>cyrJ</i> and <i>sxtA</i> genes involved in cyanotoxin production, LC-MS/MS quantifying microcystin, cylindrospermopsin and saxitoxin concentration, and microscopic analyses identifying potentially toxic cyanobacterial taxa. qPCR analyses detected potentially toxic <i>Microcystis</i> in 10 lake plankton samples, and potentially toxic <i>Planktothrix</i> cells in 12 lake plankton and one lake biofilm sample. A positive correlation was observed between numbers of <i>mcyE</i> gene copies and microcystin concentrations. Potential cylindrospermopsin- and saxitoxin-producers were detected in three and seven lake biofilm samples, respectively. The study demonstrated a potential for cyanotoxin production that was left undetected by traditional methods in both plankton and biofilm samples. Thus, the qPCR method could be useful in regular monitoring of water bodies to improve risk assessment and enable timely measures. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T00:57:23Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-28de8074cc714d57bd56404827edfd09 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2072-6651 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T00:57:23Z |
| publishDate | 2021-02-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Toxins |
| spelling | doaj.art-28de8074cc714d57bd56404827edfd092023-12-11T16:46:59ZengMDPI AGToxins2072-66512021-02-0113213310.3390/toxins13020133Potentially Toxic Planktic and Benthic Cyanobacteria in Slovenian Freshwater Bodies: Detection by Quantitative PCRMaša Zupančič0Polona Kogovšek1Tadeja Šter2Špela Remec Rekar3Leonardo Cerasino4Špela Baebler5Aleksandra Krivograd Klemenčič6Tina Eleršek7Department of Genetic Toxicology and Cancer Biology, National Institute of Biology, 1000 Ljubljana, SloveniaDepartment of Biotechnology and Systems Biology, National Institute of Biology, 1000 Ljubljana, SloveniaSlovenian Environment Agency, 1000 Ljubljana, SloveniaSlovenian Environment Agency, 1000 Ljubljana, SloveniaDepartment of Sustainable Agro-Ecosystems and Bioresources, Research and Innovation Centre, Fondazione Edmund Mach, 38010 San Michele all’Adige, ItalyDepartment of Biotechnology and Systems Biology, National Institute of Biology, 1000 Ljubljana, SloveniaSlovenian Environment Agency, 1000 Ljubljana, SloveniaDepartment of Genetic Toxicology and Cancer Biology, National Institute of Biology, 1000 Ljubljana, SloveniaDue to increased frequency of cyanobacterial blooms and emerging evidence of cyanotoxicity in biofilm, reliable methods for early cyanotoxin threat detection are of major importance for protection of human, animal and environmental health. To complement the current methods of risk assessment, this study aimed to evaluate selected qPCR assays for detection of potentially toxic cyanobacteria in environmental samples. In the course of one year, 25 plankton and 23 biofilm samples were collected from 15 water bodies in Slovenia. Three different analyses were performed and compared to each other; qPCR targeting <i>mcyE</i>, <i>cyrJ</i> and <i>sxtA</i> genes involved in cyanotoxin production, LC-MS/MS quantifying microcystin, cylindrospermopsin and saxitoxin concentration, and microscopic analyses identifying potentially toxic cyanobacterial taxa. qPCR analyses detected potentially toxic <i>Microcystis</i> in 10 lake plankton samples, and potentially toxic <i>Planktothrix</i> cells in 12 lake plankton and one lake biofilm sample. A positive correlation was observed between numbers of <i>mcyE</i> gene copies and microcystin concentrations. Potential cylindrospermopsin- and saxitoxin-producers were detected in three and seven lake biofilm samples, respectively. The study demonstrated a potential for cyanotoxin production that was left undetected by traditional methods in both plankton and biofilm samples. Thus, the qPCR method could be useful in regular monitoring of water bodies to improve risk assessment and enable timely measures.https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6651/13/2/133cyanotoxin detectionharmful cyanobacterial bloomsnext-generation biomonitoringreal-time PCRqPCRLC-MS/MS |
| spellingShingle | Maša Zupančič Polona Kogovšek Tadeja Šter Špela Remec Rekar Leonardo Cerasino Špela Baebler Aleksandra Krivograd Klemenčič Tina Eleršek Potentially Toxic Planktic and Benthic Cyanobacteria in Slovenian Freshwater Bodies: Detection by Quantitative PCR Toxins cyanotoxin detection harmful cyanobacterial blooms next-generation biomonitoring real-time PCR qPCR LC-MS/MS |
| title | Potentially Toxic Planktic and Benthic Cyanobacteria in Slovenian Freshwater Bodies: Detection by Quantitative PCR |
| title_full | Potentially Toxic Planktic and Benthic Cyanobacteria in Slovenian Freshwater Bodies: Detection by Quantitative PCR |
| title_fullStr | Potentially Toxic Planktic and Benthic Cyanobacteria in Slovenian Freshwater Bodies: Detection by Quantitative PCR |
| title_full_unstemmed | Potentially Toxic Planktic and Benthic Cyanobacteria in Slovenian Freshwater Bodies: Detection by Quantitative PCR |
| title_short | Potentially Toxic Planktic and Benthic Cyanobacteria in Slovenian Freshwater Bodies: Detection by Quantitative PCR |
| title_sort | potentially toxic planktic and benthic cyanobacteria in slovenian freshwater bodies detection by quantitative pcr |
| topic | cyanotoxin detection harmful cyanobacterial blooms next-generation biomonitoring real-time PCR qPCR LC-MS/MS |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6651/13/2/133 |
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