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Microcystis Genotype Succession and Related Environmental Factors in Lake Taihu during Cyanobacterial Blooms

  • Environmental Microbiology
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Abstract

From spring to autumn, heavy Microcystis blooms always occur in Lake Taihu, although environmental conditions vary markedly. We speculated that Microcystis genotype succession could play an important role in adaptation to environmental changes and long-term maintenance of the high Microcystis biomass. In this study, we investigated Microcystis genotype succession pattern and the related environmental variables in Lake Taihu during cyanobacterial blooms. Denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) of polymerase chain reaction -amplified the genus-specific cpcBA and mcyJ gene fragments was used to monitor the variations of Microcystis genotype and potential microcystin (MC)-producing Microcystis genotype compositions during blooms biweekly in three sites (Meiliang Bay, lake center, and Gonghu Bay) and CANOCO 4.5 for Windows were used for the multivariate statistical analysis of their relationships to environmental variables. DGGE patterns indicated that the number of dominant cpcBA genotype per sample increased from spring to autumn. Principal component analysis ordination plots of DGGE profiles showed clear temporal distribution pattern, but not spatial distribution pattern based on both cpcBA and mcyJ genotype compositions. These results indicated there were relatively gradual successions of Microcystis cpcBA and mcyJ genotype compositions in each site, and no distinct spatial difference among the three sites. Redundancy analyses of the gel patterns showed that, in all the three sites, three environmental factors (nitrate, pH, and chemical oxygen demand) were correlated significantly to successions of both cpcBA and mcyJ genotypes except for mcyJ genotype in the lake center. Spearman’s correlations indicated that the three environmental variables were also strongly correlated with chl a and MC concentrations. These results suggested that the environmental factors affecting succession of Microcystis community composition might also influence the growth of Microcystis and MC production.

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Acknowledgments

This study is financially supported by National Basic Research Program of China (973 Program, 2008CB418004), Natural Science Foundation of Jiangsu Province (BK2007150) and China Postdoctoral Science Foundation (No. 20070410345).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory of Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, School of Life Sciences, Nanjing University, Nanjing, 210093, People’s Republic of China

    Xingyu Wang, Mengjia Sun, Jinmei Wang, Letian Yang, Lan Luo & Pengfu Li

  2. State Key Laboratory of Lake Science and Environment, Nanjing Institute of Geography and Limnology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 73 East Beijing Road, Nanjing, 210008, People’s Republic of China

    Fanxiang Kong

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  1. Xingyu Wang
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  2. Mengjia Sun
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  7. Fanxiang Kong
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Correspondence to Pengfu Li.

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Wang, X., Sun, M., Wang, J. et al. Microcystis Genotype Succession and Related Environmental Factors in Lake Taihu during Cyanobacterial Blooms. Microb Ecol 64, 986–999 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00248-012-0083-1

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