Abstract
Aquatic environments are of enormous importance as natural resources of drinking water, fish production, and recreation. However, surface waters worldwide are threatened by toxic cyanobacterial algal blooms, which have detrimental effects on human health and aquatic biota. One of the most important toxic cyanobacteria in Swedish freshwater is the genus Microcystis. We know which species may be harmful, but cannot predict where and when blooms will be toxic due to inter-population and strain variation. Using a new population genomic approach along with novel single-colony technology we will address this issue with the aim to understand temporal and spatial prevalence, and the underlying function of toxicity. Our overarching hypothesis is that toxic and non-toxic populations have emerged as a result of ecological differentiation. By using genome sequencing we will identify SNPs and determine the population genetic structure of toxic and non-toxic strains. Genomic data will be paired with toxin analyses from single colonies to determine the composition and distribution of toxic strains. We will determine whether toxic and non-toxic populations have undergone ecological differentiation by exploring the pattern of genomic differences for signs of positive ecological selection Additionally, using the collected data we will develop and optimize an early-warning detection tool of toxic Microcystis strains for Swedish conditions for future implementation in management and monitoring.
Sweden