In the last decades, problems of cyanobacteria and their noxious metabolites such as cyanotoxins and taste and odor (T&O) contaminants in drinking water have drawn the attention of many scientists, who have endeavoured to identify these compounds and determine their sources. Despite more stringent regulations, more detailed management plans and better quality control for drinking water systems, the public is increasingly concerned about the quality of tap water. Gas-chromatography-mass-spectrometry (GC-MS) and liquid-chromatography-mass-spectrometry (LC-MS) methods are usually costly, labour-intensive and/or time-consuming, and can only provide single-sample analysis. The quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) technique provides a high throughput and multiple-sample analysis. In this study, the functional genes of four commonly detected noxious cyanobacterial metabolites – cylindrospermopsin, microcystin, geosmin, and 2-methylisoborneol (MIB) – are proposed for simultaneous quantification.
Key words: Drinking water, microalgae, quadruplex, MIB, microcystin, cylindrospermopsin, geosmin.
13 May 2016