title: Non-microcystin producing Microcystis wesenbergii (Komárek) Komárek (Cyanobacteria) representing a main waterbloom-forming species in Chinese waters.
abstract: It is well known that several morphospecies of Microcystis, such as Microcystis aeruginosa (Kützing) Lemmermann and Microcystis viridis (A. Brown) Lemmermann can produce hepatotoxic microcystins. However, previous studies gave contradictory conclusions about microcystin production of Microcystis wesenbergii (Komárek) Komárek. In the present study, ten Microcystis morphospecies were identified in waterblooms of seven Chinese waterbodies, and Microcystis wesenbergii was shown as the dominant species in these waters. More than 250 single colonies of M. wesenbergii were chosen, under morphological identification, to examine whether M. wesenbergii produce hepatotoxic microcystin by using multiplex PCR for molecular detection of a region (mcyA) of microcystin synthesis genes, and chemical analyses of microcystin content by ELISA and HPLC for 21 isolated strains of M. wesenbergii from these waters were also performed. Both molecular and chemical methods demonstrated that M. wesenbergii from Chinese waters did not produce microcystin.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Hydrobiology, The Chinese Academy of Sciences, Donghu Nanlu 7, Wuhan, Hubei 430072, PR China.
authors.forename: Yao
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.forename: Zhongxing
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.forename: Boshi
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Yu
authors.forename: Xin
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Peng
authors.forename: Gongliang
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Yu
authors.forename: Zhihong
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Wei
authors.forename: Guoxiang
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Renhui
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Li
mesh_terms: D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000235:genetics; D002681:China; D005618:Fresh Water / Q000382:microbiology*; D005798:Genes, Bacterial; D052998:Microcystins / Q000096:biosynthesis* / Q000235:genetics; D046931:Microcystis / Q000145:classification / Q000254:growth & development / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000378:metabolism*; D010453:Peptide Synthases / Q000235:genetics; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction / Q000379:methods; D014871:Water Microbiology
chemical_list: D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D052998:Microcystins; C078588:microcystin; D010453:Peptide Synthases; C432283:microcystin synthetase A