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Molecular tools for the quantitative evaluation of potentially toxigenic Tychonema bourrellyi (Cyanobacteria, Oscillatoriales) in large lakes

  • LARGE AND DEEP PERIALPINE LAKES
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Abstract

The large lakes south of the Alps constitute the most important lake district in Italy. In these regions, Tychonema bourrellyi was identified only recently, with anatoxin-a (ATX-a) producing populations developing with high biomasses in spring and early summer. The increasing development of T. bourrellyi and the associated risk for ATX-a exposure may have a negative impact on the use of water resources. In this regard, recent molecular tools proved to be suitable for the analysis and surveillance of toxigenic microorganisms, providing significant advances in water quality management. In this study, we designed species-specific primers based on the rbcLX genes, for the identification and cell quantification of T. bourrellyi in environmental samples, for PCR and qPCR (SYBR Green) applications. The application of this assay for environmental analyses was validated on Lake Garda samples, showing a significant correlation with densities estimated by light microscopy (LM). Moreover, densities estimated by both LM and qPCR were highly correlated with concentrations of ATX-a. This sensitive method can be used for the long-term study of T. bourrellyi population dynamics, and its fast monitoring in the alpine region, improving risk assessment evaluations and the management of waters.

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Acknowledgements

The activity was supported by PhD fellowship to C. Capelli from the E. Mach Foundation—Istituto Agrario di S. Michele all’Adige. Investigations were carried out in the framework of the LTER (Long Term Ecological Research) Italian network, site ‘Southern Alpine lakes’, IT08-000-A (http://www.lteritalia.it/). We are grateful to our colleagues in FEM, for their support in the field and/or laboratory activities, and to the ARPA Veneto (G. Franzini), for logistic support in the field.

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  1. Research and Innovation Centre, Istituto Agrario di S. Michele All’Adige—Fondazione E. Mach, Via E. Mach 1, 38010, S. Michele all’Adige, Trento, Italy

    Camilla Capelli, Leonardo Cerasino, Adriano Boscaini & Nico Salmaso

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  1. Camilla Capelli
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  2. Leonardo Cerasino
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  3. Adriano Boscaini
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  4. Nico Salmaso
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Correspondence to Camilla Capelli.

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Guest editors: Nico Salmaso, Orlane Anneville, Dietmar Straile & Pierluigi Viaroli / Large and deep perialpine lakes: ecological functions and resource management

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Capelli, C., Cerasino, L., Boscaini, A. et al. Molecular tools for the quantitative evaluation of potentially toxigenic Tychonema bourrellyi (Cyanobacteria, Oscillatoriales) in large lakes. Hydrobiologia 824, 109–119 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10750-018-3513-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10750-018-3513-3

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