Relative importance of Microcystis abundance and diversity in determining microcystin dynamics in Lake Erie coastal wetland and downstream beach water.
OBJECTIVE
Microcystis population and microcystin (MC) dynamics were investigated in western Lake Erie coastal wetlands and downstream beach water. A three-dimensional (3-D) model was developed to quantify how Microcystis population size and structure affect MCs.


RESULTS
Real-time PCR, denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) and enzyme-linked immunoabsorbent assay (ELISA) were used. A moderate-low level of Microcystis abundance and MCs were detected with a significant increase along the wetland flow and the spatiotemporal homogeneity of Microcystis populations. The proportion of toxigenic and nontoxgenic genotypes appeared to be more affected by the variation in two major Microcystis PC-IGS genotypes. MC dynamics was associated with the changing Microcystis population size and structure. The 3-D model showed that Microcystis population with greater Microcystis PC-IGS abundance (and simultaneously higher diversity) had more MCs.


CONCLUSIONS
Microcystin variation was significantly affected by Microcystis population size and structure. The 3-D model also revealed the relative importance of Microcystis population size and structure in determining MCs in the Lake Erie costal wetland and downstream beach water.


CONCLUSIONS
This study enriches our understanding of Microcystis population and microcystin ecology in a western Lake Erie coastal wetland and downstream beach water. Our illustrative model brings a new perspective for understanding the ecological relationship between Microcystis population size and structure and MCs.
Division of Environmental Health Sciences, College of Public Health, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA.
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Hu
Division of Environmental Health Sciences, College of Public Health, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA.
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Rea
Department of Animal Sciences, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA.
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Yu
Division of Environmental Health Sciences, College of Public Health, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA.|Department of Food Science and Technology, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA.
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Lee
D044822:Biodiversity; D005838:Genotype; D060106:Lakes / Q000382:microbiology*; D052998:Microcystins / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D046931:Microcystis / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification* / Q000378:metabolism*; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010802:Phylogeny; D060888:Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction; D053833:Wetlands
D052998:Microcystins; C078588:microcystin
DGGE; Lake Erie; Microcystis diversity; beach; microcystin; three-dimensional model; wetland