Shifts in Microbial Community Composition and Microbial-Mediated Processes, Carrie Givens

Описание: Full Title: Shifts in Microbial Community Composition and Microbial-Mediated Processes with Cyanobacterial Algal Bloom Formation and Cyanotoxin Occurrence, Carrie E. Givens

The occurrence of cyanobacterial harmful algal blooms (HABs) in eutrophic freshwater systems remains a human and ecological health problem worldwide. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) continues to work in the Western Lake Erie Basin to characterize the spatio-temporal life cycle of cyanobacteria HABs, associated cyanotoxins and the genes responsible for cyanotoxin production, and HAB-associated microbial communities in relation to algal bloom formation and cyanotoxin production. High-throughput amplicon sequencing was used to assess the microbial community of lake sediment prior to bloom formation and the microbial community succession in the water column prior to, during, and after algal blooms. Analysis of sediment and water column samples collected from 2014- to 2016 suggests that Microcystis spp. may overwinter in sediment and act as a source population for summer HAB formation. Additionally, a seasonal shift in the water column cyanobacterial community from Synechococcus spp. to a Microcystis spp.-dominated community (as observed in our 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing data set) correlates with algal bloom formation and cyanotoxin production. This research was expanded to incorporate a shotgun metagenomics sequencing approach, allowing us to evaluate the functional capabilities of microbial communities with algal bloom formation and cyanotoxin production. Data were analyzed to determine whether there is a correlation between shifts in microbial-mediated processes and biotic and abiotic factors associated with bloom formation and cyanotoxin production. Understanding how microbial populations change over time with respect to concurrently-collected, water-quality data will help infer which environmental variables influence changes in algal blooms and identify potential triggers for cyanotoxin production.

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