Quantification of microcystin-producing and non-microcystin producing Microcystis populations during the 2009 and 2010 blooms in Lake Taihu using quantitative real-time PCR

Lake Taihu,a large,shallow hypertrophic freshwater lake in eastern China,has experienced lake-wide toxic cyanobacterial blooms annually during summer season in the past decades.Spatial changes in the abundance of hepatotoxin microcystin-producing and nonmicrocystin producing Microcystis populations were investigated in the lake in August of 2009 and 2010.To monitor the densities of the total Microcystis population and the potential microcystin-producing subpopulation,we used a quantitative real-time PCR assay targeting the phycocyanin intergenic spacer（PC-IGS） and the microcystin synthetase gene（mcyD）,respectively.On the basis of quantification by real-time PCR analysis,the abundance of potential toxic Microcystis genotypes and the ratio of the mcyD subpopulation to the total Microcystis varied significantly,from 4.08×104 to 5.22×107 copies/mL,from 5.7% to 65.8%,respectively.Correlation analysis showed a strong positive relationship between chlorophyll-a,toxic Microcystis and total Microcystis;the abundance of toxic Microcystis correlated positively with total phosphorus and ortho-phosphate concentrations,but negatively with TN：TP ratio and nitrate concentrations.Meanwhile the proportion of potential toxic genotypes within Microcystis population showed positive correlation with total phosphorus and ortho-phosphate concentrations.Our data suggest that increased phosphorus loading may be a significant factor promoting the occurrence of toxic Microcystis bloom in Lake Taihu.