Team:SZTA Szeged HU/Human Practices

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Human Practices

Algal blooming is a very frequent problem, which constantly threatens natural waters in warm climate areas. Algal blooming refers to a sudden large-scale proliferation of algae. This can , cover the water surface, and it blocks the path of light and oxygen diffuses from air into water, and this process can have a very significant effect on ecological balance, this may lead to the death of many organisms, which also results in habitat degradation. This type of spreading can occur as a result of sudden climate change, as well as on a cloudy day after a heavy rainfall.

On the image we can see that the algae's sticky and slimy feature. It's covered all over the branch' side and keeps it together. And because of the mentioned feature it can be detected by taking water on your fingers and squeeze them. If the water suffers from algal blooming it will be slimy. If not, the water is "dry", as it is called.

However, research has shown that algae secrete a kind of toxin, called microcystin, just before they spread, which induces a large-scale proliferation. What would happen if we could predict algal blooming? If the process is complete, it would be very difficult to recover the broken balance, but early detection of the problem can provide a much better chance of prevention.

Our aim was to indicate microcystin toxin accumulation before the ploriferation of algae. We investigated microcystin produced by Microcystis aeruginosa. To make this process predictable, we needed the promoter sequence of the microcystin producing genes (mcyA-J) from Microcystin aeruginosa and we replaced the original genes to GFP(Green Fluorescent Protein) However, some people may often encounter this problem, such as fishpond owners, employees of national parks, etc. It is especially important for them to avoid water blooming, to provide the right conditions for the environment and people. Water bloomings are also often cause unpleasant odors, fish and water plant decay. Furthermore the toxin has a harmful effect on people who get in touch with it. In protected areas, it may be problematic to choose the correct cleaning procedure in order to choose the most environmentally friendly solution. There are very few biological solutions available, and much greater emphasis is placed on the chemical (eg.: Calcium hypochlorite) and mechanical (eg.: water recirculation) solutions.

During our project we work with the Microcystis strain called Microystis aeruginosa BGSD 243. It has an especially great importance for us, because it was isolated by Hungarian researchers at Lake Velencei and it appears in many Hungarian lakes. When we searched for its DNA sequence in data bases we saw that the sequence of the promoter region of mcy genes is unknown, so we decided to sequence it, and - since the sequence of this region is very variable - to compare it with other strains'/species' promoters, thus examine its phylogenetic traits. We amlified the mentioned region of our strain's genomic DNA with PCR and visualized the products using gel electrophoresis. The result is shown on the picture below. After having purified the DNA form the gel, we sent it for sequencing to the Biological Research Center. We weren't able to finish in time, thus we won't get the sequence when we planned to and we can't publish it on our wiki page until the Wikifreeze, but we are going to present the results and conclusions in our presentation at the Giant Jamboree

For the gel electrophoresis we used Thermo Fischer 100 bp size ladder.

The PCR reactions provided a main product at ca. 1000 bp.

We also created a questionnaire which was sent to the Hungarian water authorities and fishpond-owners. Based on our results: Firstly, they find the instruments and their parts too expensive, and feel overwhelmed by the amount of money that organizations asking to detect and eliminate the algal blooming. Secondly Many people fears of biological methods, genetically modified species, and bacteria. They are afraid of using them just worsen the situation. Fortunately, there are also those who are open to innovative solutions and would like to use biological products. We hope that this approach will become widespread in the future.

Click here to see the questionnaire

The evaluation of the questionnaire's results (hungarian answers)

The evaluation of the questionnaire's results (USA answers)