AEM
Home Help [Feedback] [For Subscribers] [Archive] [Search] [Contents]
This Article
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Other Versions of this Article:
AEM.02746-06v1
73/7/2173    most recent
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowReprints and Permissions
Right arrow Copyright Information
Right arrow Books from ASM Press
Right arrow MicrobeWorld
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via HighWire
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Koskenniemi, K.
Right arrow Articles by Sivonen, K.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Koskenniemi, K.
Right arrow Articles by Sivonen, K.
Agricola
Right arrow Articles by Koskenniemi, K.
Right arrow Articles by Sivonen, K.

 Previous Article  |  Next Article 

Applied and Environmental Microbiology, April 2007, p. 2173-2179, Vol. 73, No. 7
0099-2240/07/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/AEM.02746-06
Copyright © 2007, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Quantitative Real-Time PCR Detection of Toxic Nodularia Cyanobacteria in the Baltic Sea{triangledown}

Kerttu Koskenniemi, Christina Lyra, Pirjo Rajaniemi-Wacklin, Jouni Jokela, and Kaarina Sivonen*

Department of Applied Chemistry and Microbiology, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland

Received 24 November 2006/ Accepted 20 January 2007

A specific quantitative real-time PCR (qPCR) method was developed for the quantification of hepatotoxin nodularin-producing Nodularia, one of the main bloom-forming cyanobacteria in the Baltic Sea. Specific PCR primers were designed for subunit F of the nodularin synthetase gene (ndaF), which encodes the NdaF subunit of the nodularin synthetase gene complex needed for nodularin production. The qPCR method was applied to water samples (a total of 120 samples) collected from the Baltic Sea in July 2004. As few as 30 ndaF gene copies ml–1 of seawater could be detected, and thus, the method was very sensitive. The ndaF gene copy numbers and nodularin concentrations were shown to correlate in the Baltic seawater, indicating the constant production of nodularin by Nodularia. This qPCR method for the ndaF gene can be used for detailed studies of Nodularia blooms and their formation. ndaF gene copies and nodularin were detected mostly in the surface water but also in deeper water layers (down to 30 m). Toxic Nodularia blooms are not only horizontally but also vertically widely distributed, and thus, the Baltic fauna is extensively exposed to nodularin.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Department of Applied Chemistry and Microbiology, Viikki Biocenter, P.O. Box 56 (Viikinkaari 9), FIN-00014 Helsinki University, Finland. Phone: 358 9 19159270. Fax: 358 9 19159322. E-mail: kaarina.sivonen{at}helsinki.fi.

{triangledown} Published ahead of print on 2 February 2007.

Applied and Environmental Microbiology, April 2007, p. 2173-2179, Vol. 73, No. 7
0099-2240/07/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/AEM.02746-06
Copyright © 2007, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.



This article has been cited by other articles:



Home Help [Feedback] [For Subscribers] [Archive] [Search] [Contents]
J. Bacteriol. Microbiol. Mol. Biol. Rev. Eukaryot. Cell All ASM Journals

Copyright © 2007 by the American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.