METHOD AND PRIMERS FOR THE DETECTION OF MICROCYSTIN-PRODUCING TOXIC CYANOBACTERIA

摘要

The present invention provides a method for detecting the presence of microcystin-producing toxic cyanobacteria in a sample comprising the step of contacting nucleic acid obtained from an environmental sample with primers specifically hybridizing with the nucleic acid sequence of mcy B gene present in Microcystis aeruginosa, Anabaena sp. and Planktothrix agardhii. The present invention further provides primers, primer pairs and probes designed for the method of the invention.

主权项

1. A method for detecting the presence of microcystin-producing toxic cyanobacteria in a sample comprising the steps of:
a) performing lysis of the cells in said sample; b) contacting nucleic acid obtained from the lysed cells in a polymerase chain reaction mix with primers specifically hybridizing with the nucleic acid sequence of mcyB gene present in Microcystis aeruginosa, Planktothrix agardhii and Anabaena sp., wherein said primers amplify at least part of the target sequence in the mcyB gene as set forth in SEQ ID NO:1, SEQ ID NO:2, or SEQ ID NO:3; c) performing a polymerase chain reaction with a reaction mix obtained from step b) so that the sequences of said mcyB gene are specifically amplified, if said sequences are present in the sample; and d) detecting the presence of amplified nucleid acid sequences, wherein the presence of amplified mcyB gene sequence is indicative of the presence of microcystin-producing toxic cyanobacteria in the sample.