Germany: Cyanobacteria

Temporal Dynamics of the Microbial Community Composition with a Focus on Toxic Cyanobacteria and Toxin Presence during Harmful Algal Blooms in Two South German Lakes

Pia I. Scherer, Andrew D. Millard, Andreas Miller, Renate Schoen, Uta Raeder, Juergen Geist and Katrin Zwirglmaier | Limnological Research Station Iffeldorf, Aquatic Systems Biology Unit, Department of Life Sciences Weihenstephan, Technical University of Munich, Munich, Germany; Warwick Medical School, University of Warwick, Coventry, United Kingdom; Bavarian Health and Food Safety Authority, Oberschleißheim, Germany | 2017 | Frontiers in Microbiology 8:2387

Pia Scherer and her co-authors investigated the relationship between cyanobacterial community composition and environment to toxicity with a lake system within Germany. Microcystin is the major toxin produced by some cyanobacteria, which can cause concern for freshwater used for drinking or recreational activities. The group looked at a biomarker to identify the main microcystin producers. This was achieved using qPCR to quantify the level of the gene mcyB. Standard curves where used along with absolute quantification to determine the level of mcyB gene copies using the Mic.