Genomic Investigation of Toxic Taxa and Genes in Cyanobacterial Blooms
The rapid proliferation of cyanobacteria forms cyanobacterial harmful algal blooms (cHABs) that interfere with local ecology and produce secondary metabolites called cyanotoxins. Cyanotoxins such as microcystins, anatoxins, cylindrospermopsins, etc. pose life-threatening risks in humans and other animals like liver disease and neurodegeneration. Eutrophic waters of the Chowan River and Albemarle Sound in Eastern North Carolina are subject to recurrent cHABs, leaving the surrounding coastal communities exposed to potential health risks. Many different environmental factors and cyanobacterial stress responses are known to affect cHAB toxicity, but the growth conditions and biosynthetic pathways that drive cyanotoxin production itself are still unknown.
This project aims to (1) characterize microbial community composition dynamics in active cHABs, (2) determine which environmental conditions may select for putatively toxic species, and (3) interrogate genomes of dominant putatively toxic species for genes and operons linked to toxin production. This study will help design cHAB mitigation strategies with an enhanced understanding of exposure risk in the Albemarle Sound area to toxic cyanobacteria species, environmental conditions that promote their proliferation, and genetic markers and pathways that suggest toxicity risk. This work is being conducted as part of a larger collaborative effort with the Chowan Edenton Environmental Group and Albemarle Regional Health Services who have collected biomass samples from cHAB events along the Chowan River and Albemarle Sound coasts. Additionally, we are collaborating with Duke Environmental Engineering faculty who are building machine learning models that use satellite imaging and on-the-ground environmental data validation to predict cHAB events. This will pave the way for more accessible site-specific cHAB predictions and surveillance.
Researchers
- Lan Nguyen
Funding
- Duke Office of Faculty Advancement