Identification of microcystin producing cyanobacteria in the plankton of Lake Baikal and Irkutsk Reservoir

Abstract

Genes of synthesis of hepatotoxic microcystin belonging to the genera Microcystis and Dolichospermum (Anabaena) were previously identified in samples of plankton from Lake Baikal and reservoirs of the Angara HPP cascade. However, accurate identification of toxin producing species is not possible without culture studies. In this study, 17 strains of planktonic cyanobacteria belonging to the most widespread species in water bodies of temperate zone were obtained by isolation and propagation of individual filaments or colonies. Using molecular biological and immunoassay analyses, it was revealed that the species Dolichospermum lemmermannii and Microcystis aeruginosa were microcystin producers. Of the eight D. lemmermannii strains obtained, only two produced microcystins, their morphological feature being the ability to form large colonies.