Cyanobacteria, cyanotoxin synthetase gene, and cyanotoxin occurrence among selected large river sites of the conterminous United States, 2017–18

Zuellig, Robert E.; Graham, Jennifer L.; Stelzer, Erin A.; Loftin, Keith A.; Rosen, Barry H.

doi:10.3133/sir20215121

Cited by 4 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 49 publications

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“…Twenty-six river samples (~ 45%) did contain taxa possessing the mcyE gene, and in most cases those samples with the highest metagenomics-based relative abundance of potential cyanotoxin producers were among these samples. These findings are generally in agreement with previous qPCR-based analyses done on the same rivers in previous years 38,39 . This finding indicates that U.S. rivers that contain the highest levels of known cyanotoxin producing taxa often also contain genetic indicators for cyanotoxin production (again, at least for MC).…”

Section: Mcye Sequencing and The Distribution And Genotypes Of Potent...supporting

confidence: 92%

“…Many metagenomic studies have been conducted on general river microbial communities (for examples see [25][26][27][28][29][30][31][32][33][34][35][36] ). In contrast, considerably fewer studies have examined cyanotoxin producing cyanobacteria in rivers, and oftentimes these studies are limited to exploring only cyanotoxin synthetase genes from a handful of species [37][38][39][40] . Even fewer studies have profiled a river's cyanobacterial communities using metagenomics-based approaches in the absence of a priori assumptions generated from known or reported increases in cyanobacteria and/or cyanotoxins 41 .…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…During 2010-2017, the United States Geological Survey (USGS) conducted a study to better understand the occurrence of cyanobacteria with known cyanotoxin-producing strains, cyanotoxin synthetase genes, and cyanotoxins in lotic ecosystems 38,39 . To supplement that study, we sought to use a metagenomics-based approach to profile microbial communities within twelve large United States (U.S.) rivers from June to October in 2019 (Fig.…”

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confidence: 99%

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Metagenomic mapping of cyanobacteria and potential cyanotoxin producing taxa in large rivers of the United States

Linz

Sienkiewicz

Struewing

et al. 2023

Sci Rep

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Cyanobacteria and cyanotoxin producing cyanobacterial blooms are a trending focus of current research. Many studies focus on bloom events in lentic environments such as lakes or ponds. Comparatively few studies have explored lotic environments and fewer still have examined the cyanobacterial communities and potential cyanotoxin producers during ambient, non-bloom conditions. Here we used a metagenomics-based approach to profile non-bloom microbial communities and cyanobacteria in 12 major U.S. rivers at multiple time points during the summer months of 2019. Our data show that U.S. rivers possess microbial communities that are taxonomically rich, yet largely consistent across geographic location and time. Within these communities, cyanobacteria often comprise significant portions and frequently include multiple species with known cyanotoxin producing strains. We further characterized these potential cyanotoxin producing taxa by deep sequencing amplicons of the microcystin E (mcyE) gene. We found that rivers containing the highest levels of potential cyanotoxin producing cyanobacteria consistently possess taxa with the genetic potential for cyanotoxin production and that, among these taxa, the predominant genus of origin for the mcyE gene is Microcystis. Combined, these data provide a unique perspective on cyanobacteria and potential cyanotoxin producing taxa that exist in large rivers across the U.S. and can be used to better understand the ambient conditions that may precede bloom events in lotic freshwater ecosystems.

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Section: Mcye Sequencing and The Distribution And Genotypes Of Potent...supporting

confidence: 92%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Metagenomic mapping of cyanobacteria and potential cyanotoxin producing taxa in large rivers of the United States

Linz

Sienkiewicz

Struewing

et al. 2023

Sci Rep

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“…We also did not observe strong shifts in cyanobacterial community composition. Cyanobacteria can produce potent toxins, but Cyanobacteria abundance does not always correlate with cyanotoxin concentrations ( 14 , 15 ), suggesting that toxin concentrations could yet have changed as a result of the invasion.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Species invasions shift microbial phenology in a two-decade freshwater time series

Rohwer

Hale

Zanden

et al. 2023

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

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Invasive species impart abrupt changes on ecosystems, but their impacts on microbial communities are often overlooked. We paired a 20 y freshwater microbial community time series with zooplankton and phytoplankton counts, rich environmental data, and a 6 y cyanotoxin time series. We observed strong microbial phenological patterns that were disrupted by the invasions of spiny water flea ( Bythotrephes cederströmii ) and zebra mussels ( Dreissena polymorpha ). First, we detected shifts in Cyanobacteria phenology. After the spiny water flea invasion, Cyanobacteria dominance crept earlier into clearwater; and after the zebra mussel invasion, Cyanobacteria abundance crept even earlier into the diatom-dominated spring. During summer, the spiny water flea invasion sparked a cascade of shifting diversity where zooplankton diversity decreased and Cyanobacteria diversity increased. Second, we detected shifts in cyanotoxin phenology. After the zebra mussel invasion, microcystin increased in early summer and the duration of toxin production increased by over a month. Third, we observed shifts in heterotrophic bacteria phenology. The Bacteroidota phylum and members of the acI Nanopelagicales lineage were differentially more abundant. The proportion of the bacterial community that changed differed by season; spring and clearwater communities changed most following the spiny water flea invasion that lessened clearwater intensity, while summer communities changed least following the zebra mussel invasion despite the shifts in Cyanobacteria diversity and toxicity. A modeling framework identified the invasions as primary drivers of the observed phenological changes. These long-term invasion-mediated shifts in microbial phenology demonstrate the interconnectedness of microbes with the broader food web and their susceptibility to long-term environmental change.

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Species invasions shift microbial phenology in a two-decade freshwater time series

Rohwer

Hale

Miller

et al. 2022

Preprint

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Invasive species impart abrupt changes on ecosystems, but their impacts on microbial communities are often overlooked. We paired a 20-year freshwater microbial community time series with zooplankton and phytoplankton counts, rich environmental data, and a 6-year cyanotoxin time series. We observed strong microbial phenological patterns that were disrupted by the invasions of spiny water flea (Bythotrephes longimanus) and zebra mussels (Dreissena polymorpha). First, we detected shifts in Cyanobacteria phenology. After the spiny water flea invasion, Cyanobacteria dominance crept earlier into clearwater; and after the zebra mussel invasion, Cyanobacteria abundance crept even earlier into the diatom-dominated spring. During summer, the spiny water flea invasion sparked a cascade of shifting diversity where zooplankton diversity decreased and Cyanobacteria diversity increased. Second, we detected shifts in cyanotoxin phenology. After the zebra mussel invasion, microcystin increased in early summer and the duration of toxin production increased by over a month. Third, we observed shifts in heterotrophic bacteria phenology. After both invasions, heterotrophic bacteria with putative cyanobacterial associations increased. The Bacteroidota phylum and members of the acI Nanopelagicales lineage were differentially more abundant. The diverse summer bacterial community was most resistant to change from the zebra mussel invasion despite the observed shifts in diversity and toxicity during the summer; but the spring and clearwater bacterial communities changed most from the spiny water flea invasion, which lessened clearwater duration and intensity. These long-term invasion-mediated shifts in microbial phenology demonstrate the interconnectedness of microbes with the broader food web, and their susceptibility to long-term environmental change.

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Cyanobacteria, cyanotoxin synthetase gene, and cyanotoxin occurrence among selected large river sites of the conterminous United States, 2017–18

Cited by 4 publications

References 49 publications

Metagenomic mapping of cyanobacteria and potential cyanotoxin producing taxa in large rivers of the United States

Metagenomic mapping of cyanobacteria and potential cyanotoxin producing taxa in large rivers of the United States

Species invasions shift microbial phenology in a two-decade freshwater time series

Species invasions shift microbial phenology in a two-decade freshwater time series

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