Molecular Tools for the Detection and Quantification of Toxigenic Cyanobacteria

A guide to state-of-the-art molecular tools for monitoring and managing the toxigenicity of cyanobacteria

Runaway climate change has made the monitoring and management of toxigenic organisms in the world’s bodies of water more urgent than ever. In order to influence public policy regarding the detection and quantification of those organisms, it is incumbent upon scientists to clearly demonstrate to policy makers the increase of toxigenic cyanobacteria and the threats they pose. As molecular methods can handle many samples in short time, they are the most reliable, cost-effective tools currently available for tracking cyanotoxicity worldwide. This volume arms scientists with the tools they need to track toxigenicity in surface waters and food supplies and, hopefully, to develop new techniques for managing the spread of toxic cyanobacteria.

This book offers the first comprehensive treatment of molecular tools for monitoring cyanotoxicity. Growing out of the findings of the landmark European Cooperation in Science and Technology Cyanobacteria project (CYANOCOST), it provides detailed, practical coverage of the full array of available molecular tools and protocols, from water sampling, nucleic acid extraction, and downstream analysis—including PCR and qPCR based methods—to genotyping (DGGE), diagnostic microarrays, and community characterization using next-gen sequencing techniques.