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A Multiplex Analysis of Potentially Toxic Cyanobacteria in Lake Winnipeg during the 2013 Bloom Season.

ABSTRACT: Lake Winnipeg (Manitoba, Canada), the world's 12th largest lake by area, is host to yearly cyanobacterial harmful algal blooms (cHABs) dominated by Aphanizomenon and Dolichospermum. cHABs in Lake Winnipeg are primarily a result of eutrophication but may be exacerbated by the recent introduction of dreissenid mussels. Through multiple methods to monitor the potential for toxin production in Lake Winnipeg in conjunction with environmental measures, this study defined the baseline composition of a Lake Winnipeg cHAB to measure potential changes because of dreissenid colonization. Surface water samples were collected in 2013 from 23 sites during summer and from 18 sites in fall. Genetic data and mass spectrometry cyanotoxin profiles identified microcystins (MC) as the most abundant cyanotoxin across all stations, with MC concentrations highest in the north basin. In the fall, mcyA genes were sequenced to determine which species had the potential to produce MCs, and 12 of the 18 sites were a mix of both Planktothrix and Microcystis. Current blooms in Lake Winnipeg produce low levels of MCs, but the capacity to produce cyanotoxins is widespread across both basins. If dreissenid mussels continue to colonize Lake Winnipeg, a shift in physicochemical properties of the lake because of faster water column clearance rates may yield more toxic blooms potentially dominated by microcystin producers.

SUBMITTER: McKindles KM

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6832941 | biostudies-literature |

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Project description:The community structures of phytoplankton are important factors and indicators of lake water quality. Harmful algal blooms severely impact water supply, recreational activities and wildlife habitat. This study aimed to examine the phytoplankton composition and variations using microscopy, and identify harmful Cyanobacteria in weekly samples taken from four sites at Harsha Lake in southwest Ohio. Over the course of the summer in 2015, the phytoplankton of Harsha Lake consisted mainly of 13 taxa belonging to Bacillariophyta, Chlorophyta, Cryptophyta, Cyanobacteria, Dinophyta and Euglenophyta. Their significant successions started with Bacillariophyta and/or Chlorophyta, then bloomed with Cyanobacteria and ended with Chlorophyta and/or Dinophyta. Cyanobacteria members: Microcystis, Planktothrix, Dolichospermum, Aphanizomenon, Cylindrospermopsis, and Oscillatoria from the Cyanophyceae were identified to be dominant genera. These organisms varied spatially and temporally in similar patterns along with the variations of nutrients and formed the summer bloom with the total biomasses ranging from 0.01 to 114.89 mg L-1 with mean of 22.88 mg L-1. M. aeruginosa and P. rubescens were revealed as the microcystin producers, while A. circinalis and Aphanizomenon sp. were identified as a saxitoxin producer through cloning and sequencing PCR products of mcyA, mcyE and sxtA genes. The biomasses of phytoplankton, Cyanobacteria and Microcystis were positively correlated to nutrients, especially to total nitrogen. The total ELISA measurement for microcystin positively correlated with Cyanobacteria (R2 = 0.66, P < 0.0001), Microcystis (R2 = 0.64, P < 0.0001) and phytoplankton (R2 = 0.59, P < 0.0001). The basic information on the occurrence and biomasses of Cyanobacteria and total phytoplankton, and the analysis for toxic species, which were the first report for the inland water in Ohio, USA, will document the succession patterns of phytoplankton and toxin production over a season and provide data to predict risk occurrence to both human and ecological factors.

Project description:Pseudo-nitzschia blooms often occur in coastal and open ocean environments, sometimes leading to the production of the neurotoxin domoic acid that can cause severe negative impacts to higher trophic levels. Increasing evidence suggests a close relationship between phytoplankton bloom and bacterial assemblages, however, the microbial composition and succession during a bloom process is unknown. Here, we investigate the bacterial assemblages before, during and after toxic and non-toxic Pseudo-nitzschia blooms to determine the patterns of bacterial succession in a natural bloom setting. Opportunistic sampling of bacterial community profiles were determined weekly at Santa Cruz Municipal Wharf by 454 pyrosequencing and analyzed together with domoic acid levels, phytoplankton community and biomass, nutrients and temperature. We asked if the bacterial communities are similar between bloom and non-bloom events and if domoic acid or the presence of toxic algal species acts as a driving force that can significantly structure phytoplankton-associated bacterial communities. We found that bacterial diversity generally increases when Pseudo-nitzschia numbers decline. Furthermore, bacterial diversity is higher when the low-DA producing P. fraudulenta dominates the algal bloom while bacterial diversity is lower when high-DA producing P. australis dominates the algal bloom, suggesting that the presence of algal toxin can structure bacterial community. We also found bloom-related succession patterns among associated bacterial groups; Gamma-proteobacteria, were dominant during low toxic P. fraudulenta blooms comprising mostly of Vibrio spp., which increased in relative abundance (6-65%) as the bloom progresses. On the other hand, Firmicutes bacteria comprising mostly of Planococcus spp. (12-86%) dominate during high toxic P. australis blooms, with the bacterial assemblage showing the same bloom-related successional patterns in three independent bloom events. Other environmental variables such as nitrate and phosphate and temperature appear to influence some low abundant bacterial groups as well. Our results suggest that phytoplankton-associated bacterial communities are strongly affected not just by phytoplankton bloom in general, but also by the type of algal species that dominates in the natural bloom.

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A Multiplex Analysis of Potentially Toxic Cyanobacteria in Lake Winnipeg during the 2013 Bloom Season.

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