Funding period: 2020-2024
Lead: Arthur Zastepa
Total GRDI funding: $140,000
The suite of known cyanobacterial toxins and bioactive metabolites of public concern in Canadian waters is expanding, yet reliable and low-cost screening methods are limited and not readily available for routine application. The purpose of this project is to develop multifaceted, rapid, genetic-based assessment tools to screen for the production-potential of a sub-set of priority toxins and bioactive metabolites. The proposed work will result in a genetic-based approach to establish an early-warning indicator of not only the toxin-producing potential of cyanobacterial and harmful algal blooms (cHABs) relevant to human/animal health but also of other metabolites relevant to ecosystem health. Ultimately it will inform research, monitoring, and management actions intended to reduce the frequency, severity, and toxicity of cHABs.
Publications
- Crevecoeur S, Edge TA, Watson LC, Watson SB, Greer CW, Ciborowski JJH, Diep N, Dove A, Drouillard KG, Frenken T, McKay RM, Zastepa A, Comte J. 2023. Spatio-temporal connectivity of the aquatic microbiome associated with cyanobacterial blooms along a Great Lake riverine-lacustrine continuum. Front Microbiol. 14:1073753. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2023.1073753
- Zastepa A, Westrick JA, Liang A, Birbeck JA, Furr E, Watson LC, Stockdill JL, Ramakrishna BS, Crevecoeur S. 2023. Broad screening of toxic and bioactive metabolites in cyanobacterial and harmful algal blooms in Lake of the Woods (Canada and USA), 2016–2019. Journal of Great Lakes Research, 49(1), 134-146. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jglr.2022.12.006
- Zastepa A, Miller TR, Watson LC, Kling H, Watson SB. 2021. Toxins and other bioactive metabolites in deep chlorophyll layers containing the cyanobacteria planktothrix cf. Isothrix in two Georgian Bay embayments, Lake Huron. Toxins, 13 (7):445. https://doi.org/10.3390/toxins13070445
Contact us
For additional information, please contact:
Genomics R&D Initiative
Email: info@grdi-irdg.collaboration.gc.ca