COMBINING IMAGING FLOW CYTOMETRY AND MOLECULAR BIOLOGICAL METHODS TO REVEAL PRESENCE OF POTENTIALLY TOXIC ALGAE AT THE URAL RIVER IN KAZAKHSTAN
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Date
2021-07
Authors
Mirasbekov, Yersultan
Abdimanova, Aigerim
Sarkytbayev, Kuanysh
Samarkhanov, Kanat
Abilkas, Aidyn
Potashnikova, Daria
Arbuz, Galina
Issayev, Zhanpeis
Vorobjev, Ivan A.
Malashenkov, Dmitry V.
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Frontiers in Marine Science
Abstract
Algal blooms occur in freshwater bodies throughout the world, often leading to fish
kills. Cases of these kills along the Ural River were reported in 2018–2019, involving
significant amount of sturgeon in fish farming areas. In this study, the analysis of algal
samples from the delta of the Ural River up to 100 km inland was carried out from
August to December 2019 using imaging flow cytometry (IFC), molecular biological,
and microscopic techniques. We identified the filamentous cyanobacteria Cuspidothrix
issatschenkoi, Dolichospermum cf. flos-aquae, Dolichospermum cf. macrosporum,
Pseudanabaena limnetica, and Planktothrix spp. as the dominant potentially toxic
phytoplankton species, and we also found minor quantities of Cylindrospermopsis
raciborskii. For the first time, molecular phylogenetic investigations of field clones of
cyanobacteria from Ural River were carried out to establish the taxa of the dominant
species and to identify the presence of genes encoding toxins. The complementary
analysis with nanopore-based next-generation sequencing overlapped with the results
of IFC and was instrumental in revealing minor cyanobacteria taxa. Real-time PCR
analysis and sequencing indicated the presence of Microcystis and ADA-clade spp.
as well as genes associated with the production of microcystin (mcyE) and the algal
neurotoxin saxitoxin (sxtA) originating from cyanobacteria. These findings suggest that
toxin-producing cyanobacteria could become a threat in the Ural River near Atyrau,
which can significantly affect aquaculture in the region.
Description
Keywords
Type of access: Open Access, toxic algae, cyanobacteria, imaging flow cytometry, next-generation sequencing, MinION, real-time PCR, satellite data analysis, Cylindrospermopsis raciborskii
Citation
Mirasbekov, Y., Abdimanova, A., Sarkytbayev, K., Samarkhanov, K., Abilkas, A., Potashnikova, D., Arbuz, G., Issayev, Z., Vorobjev, I. A., Malashenkov, D. V., & Barteneva, N. S. (2021). Combining Imaging Flow Cytometry and Molecular Biological Methods to Reveal Presence of Potentially Toxic Algae at the Ural River in Kazakhstan. Frontiers in Marine Science, 8. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2021.680482