Detection of Microcystin-Producing Cyanobacteria in Missisquoi Bay, Quebec, Canada, Using Quantitative PCR

Fortin, Nathalie; Aranda-Rodriguez, Rocio; Jing, Hongmei; Pick, Frances R.; Bird, David F.; Greer, Charles W.

doi:10.1128/aem.00183-10

Cited by 76 publications

(59 citation statements)

References 30 publications

(30 reference statements)

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“…In Ontario and Quebec, we often encounter microcystin-LA (MC-LA) in lakes affected by cyanobacterial blooms ( Fig. 3; Fortin et al 2010;Zastepa et al 2014;Monchamp et al 2014). MC-LA is also a common microcystin in affected raw water intake samples from Ontario (J. Kingston, personal communication, Ontario Ministry of Environment).…”

Section: Microcystin Variantsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Several review articles have been published outlining the reasons for the dominance (Pick and Lean 1987;Paerl 1988); this continues to be an active area of research, with Canadian researchers contributing novel explanations and interpretation (Molot et al 2014;Taranu et al 2012), as well as novel approaches from paleolimnology (Taranu et al 2015) and molecular biology (Fortin et al 2010). In many ecological studies, cyanobacteria tend to be examined as one functional group when there is considerable functional diversity among bloom-forming taxa.…”

Section: Causes Of Cyanobacterial Dominance and Toxic Bloomsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…There remain challenges in developing appropriate molecular probes for all cyanotoxins, since primers must enable detection of all possible producers in a given system. Furthermore, the relationship between gene copy numbers and product (toxin) concentrations can differ across sites in a lake (Fortin et al 2010), likely owing to differences between strains. To develop predictive tools for toxic cyanobacterial blooms, future research will likely still require a combination of classical taxonomy with molecular biology and analytical chemistry approaches.…”

Section: Predicting Toxic Bloomsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…These can serve as early warning signals of blooms (Fortin et al 2010). Molecular probes for specific genes provide a more sensitive, rapid, and cost-effective means of detection than most analytical chemistry or bioassay approaches to measuring toxin concentrations.…”

Section: Predicting Toxic Bloomsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Blooming algae: a Canadian perspective on the rise of toxic cyanobacteria

Pick

2016

Can. J. Fish. Aquat. Sci.

166

111

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Algal bloom reports are on the rise across Canada. While eutrophication is the main driver, other stressors of aquatic ecosystems, specifically climate change and food web alterations from the spread of invasive species and overfishing, are compounding factors acting in concert or independently. Current models can predict the average algal and cyanobacterial biomass concentrations across temperate lakes as a function of nutrients, but models to specifically predict harmful algal composition and toxicity are lacking. At the within-lake scale, where management occurs, strong year to year variations in cyanobacterial blooms remain challenging to explain, let alone predict. The most common cyanotoxins, the hepatotoxic microcystins, are chemically diverse with some variants more toxic than others and with greater propensity for persistence and bioaccumulation. These differences have been largely overlooked, as current guidelines have been based on microcystin-LR, considered the most common variant. Microcystin-LA is also encountered in Canadian waters and appears to exhibit greater persistence and bioaccumulation. With cyanobacterial blooms most likely to increase across the country, including the north, guidelines and policies for cyanotoxins in drinking and recreational waters as well as fish will need to be developed for the protection of ecosystem and human health. Ultimately, control of eutrophication is the most important option for managing toxic cyanobacterial blooms; nitrogen and phosphorus need to be considered as environmental contaminants, as both play a role in controlling the dominance of toxigenic cyanobacteria.Résumé : Les signalements de fleurs d'eau sont en hausse au Canada. Si l'eutrophisation en est la principale cause, d'autres facteurs de stress pour les écosystèmes aquatiques, plus précisément les changements climatiques et les modifications des réseaux trophiques découlant de la propagation d'espèces envahissantes et de la surpêche, agissent de concert avec cette dernière ou de manière indépendante. Les modèles actuels peuvent prédire les concentrations moyennes de biomasse d'algues et de cyanobactéries dans les lacs tempérés en fonction des nutriments, mais des modèles permettant de prédire la composition et la toxicité des algues nuisibles en particulier manquent toujours. À l'échelle d'un lac faisant l'objet d'une gestion, il est difficile d'expliquer et encore plus difficile de prédire les fortes variations interannuelles des proliférations de cyanobactéries observées. Les cyanotoxines les plus répandues, les microcystines hépatotoxiques, sont variées sur le plan chimique, certaines variantes étant plus toxiques que d'autres et plus susceptibles de persister et de se bioaccumuler. Ces différences ont été largement négligées, les directives actuelles étant basées sur la microcystine-LR, considérée comme la variante la plus répandue. La microcystine-LA est également présente dans les eaux canadiennes et semble caractérisée par une persistance et une bioaccumulation plus grandes. Co...

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Section: Microcystin Variantsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Causes Of Cyanobacterial Dominance and Toxic Bloomsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Predicting Toxic Bloomsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Predicting Toxic Bloomsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Blooming algae: a Canadian perspective on the rise of toxic cyanobacteria

Pick

2016

Can. J. Fish. Aquat. Sci.

166

111

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“…These increased nutrient loads have been associated with the dramatic increase in toxic cyanobacteria (blueÁgreen algae) proliferation in the Missisquoi Bay over the past decade [Ministe`re du De´veloppement durable, de l'Environnement et des Parcs (MDDEP) 2012]. Contamination of these water resources by toxic cyanobacteria poses health risks to lakeshore communities as well as economic impacts that may ensue from decreased tourism (Fortin et al 2010). Given this situation, the governments of Vermont and Que´bec, who share jurisdiction over the Missisquoi Bay and its surrounding watersheds, have committed to reducing P loading, a key driver of cyanobacteria growth (Blais 2002), and eutrophication of lakes (Sharpley et al 2003).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Impacts of climate change on nutrient losses from the Pike River watershed of southern Québec

et al. 2015

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. 2015. Impacts of climate change on nutrient losses from the Pike River watershed of southern Que´bec. Can. J. Soil Sci. 95: 337Á358. The impacts of climate change on water quality in the Pike River watershed, an important contributor of nutrient loads into the northern arm of Lake Champlain, were simulated for the time horizon 2041Á2070. Four water quality scenarios were simulated using a calibrated version of the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) customized to Que´bec agroclimatic conditions. Three of the scenarios were generated using climate data simulated with the Fourth-generation Canadian Regional Climate Model (CRCM4). The fourth scenario was generated using the climate simulated with the Arpege Regional Climate Model. Potential mean climate-induced changes in sediment, phosphorus, and nitrogen yield projected by these scenarios were then analyzed for the 2050 horizon. In addition, the impacts of the different sources of climate projection uncertainty were assessed by comparing climate model initial conditions, and climate model physical structure effects on the hydrochemical projections. Only one climate scenario projected a significant increase in mean annual total phosphorus [10 metrics tons (t) yr (1 or 14%] and total nitrogen (260 t yr (1 or 17%) loads. However, when shorter time spans (seasonal and monthly scales) were considered, several significant changes were detected, especially in winter. Sediment and nutrient loadings, in winter, were predicted to become three to four times higher than current levels. These increases were attributed to a greater vulnerability of soils to erosion in winter due to the decrease in the snowpack, early onset of spring snowmelt, a greater number of rainfall events, and snowmelt episodes caused by higher winter and spring temperatures.

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Supplementary Tables

2017

Molecular Tools for the Detection and Quantification of Toxigenic Cyanobacteria

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Detection of Microcystin-Producing Cyanobacteria in Missisquoi Bay, Quebec, Canada, Using Quantitative PCR

Cited by 76 publications

References 30 publications

Blooming algae: a Canadian perspective on the rise of toxic cyanobacteria

Blooming algae: a Canadian perspective on the rise of toxic cyanobacteria

Impacts of climate change on nutrient losses from the Pike River watershed of southern Québec

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