Marine Biology Commons^™

Insight Into The Molecular Mechanisms For Microcystin Biodegradation In Lake Erie And Lake Taihu, Lauren E. Krausfeldt, Morgan M. Steffen, Robert M. Mckay, George S. Bullerjahn, Gregory L. Boyer, Steven W. Wilhelm

Great Lakes Institute for Environmental Research Publications

Microcystins are potent hepatotoxins that are frequently detected in fresh water lakes plagued by toxic cyanobacteria. Microbial biodegradation has been referred to as the most important avenue for removal of microcystin from aquatic environments. The biochemical pathway most commonly associated with the degradation of microcystin is encoded by the mlrABCD (mlr) cassette. The ecological significance of this pathway remains unclear as no studies have examined the expression of these genes in natural environments. Six metatranscriptomes were generated from microcystin-producing Microcystis blooms and analyzed to assess the activity of this pathway in environmental samples. Seventy-eight samples were collected from Lake Erie, …