Toxic cyanobacterial blooms constitute a threat to the safety and ecological quality of aquatic environments worldwide. Cyclic hepatotoxin, especially microcystin, is the most widely occurring of the cyanotoxins. The aim of this study was to identify the cyanobacterial genotypes present including how many toxic genotypes were present in two North American lakes and one African Lake. All three lakes are prone to cyanobacterial blooms and were sampled in 2005 and 2006: Lake Ontario (Bay of Quinte, Canada), Lake Erie (Maumee Bay, Canada) and Lake Victoria (Nyanza Gulf, Kenya). The cyanobacterial genotypic community was assessed using DNA based analyses of the hypervariable V3 region of the 16S rRNA gene. In addition, the aminotransferase (AMT) domain in modules mcyE and ndaF of the microcystin and nodularin gene cluster respectively was used to detect the presence of hepatotoxic genotypes. Denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) results from this study suggested that hepatotoxin producers were present in all study sites sampled and were most likely members of the genus Microcystis. This study was the first to report the potential for microcystin production in the in-shore and off-shore open lake of Nyanza Gulf in Kenya. A seasonal study of the Bay of Quinte and Maumee Bay showed differences in the cyanobacterial genotypic community from early to late summer. In addition, the cyanobacterial genotypic community from the Bay of Quinte differed from 2005 to 2006 and quantification of the North American samples revealed an increase in cyanobacterial cells from early to late summer. The Bay of Quinte saw relatively no change in hepatotoxic cells from early to late summer but in Maumee Bay hepatotoxic cells increased from undetectable in early summer to dominating the cyanobacterial community by late summer. This study demonstrated the use of DGGE and qPCR of the 16S rRNA-V3 and AMT gene region in monitoring the cyanobacterial community of waterbodies susceptible to toxic cyanobacterial blooms.

CoordenaÃÃo de AperfeiÃoamento de Pessoal de NÃvel Superior / O Mycobacterium leprae, agente etiolÃgico da hansenÃase, nÃo à cultivÃvel em meio axÃnico. A quantificaÃÃo do bacilo realizada pelo exame baciloscÃpico e histopatolÃgico à Ãtil para a classificaÃÃo da hansenÃase na escolha e monitoramento do tratamento. No entanto, esta metodologia produz resultados de especificidade e sensibilidade limitada. A PCR em tempo real (qPCR) à um ensaio sensÃvel e especÃfico que permite a quantificaÃÃo a partir de diversas amostras e pode ser utilizada no diagnÃstico diferencial de muitos patÃgenos. Atà o momento, nenhum estudo avaliou a sensibilidade e especificidade da qPCR para o diagnÃstico da hansenÃase utilizando amostras de secreÃÃo nasal. Portanto, este estudo teve como objetivo detectar e quantificar o DNA de M. leprae por qPCR em amostras de secreÃÃo nasal e biÃpsias de pacientes com hansenÃase, correlacionando com a avaliaÃÃo clÃnica e o Ãndice baciloscÃpico. Foram analisadas 61 amostras de muco nasal e 19 amostras de biÃpsia de lesÃo de pele (pareadas) de casos confirmados de hansenÃase atendidos no Centro de ReferÃncia Nacional em Dermatologia SanitÃria Dona LibÃnia. Todas as amostras foram submetidas à extraÃÃo e amplificaÃÃo de DNA por nested PCR da regiÃo de 238 pb da sequÃncia RLEP2. Posteriormente as amostras foram submetidas à quantificaÃÃo da regiÃo 16S rRNA do genoma de M. leprae pela qPCR, cuja especificidade foi verificada atravÃs da curva de dissociaÃÃo (Tm=79,5ÂC). O mÃtodo foi suficientemente sensÃvel para detectar 20 fg de DNA de M. leprae, o equivalente a quatro bacilos. Na anÃlise da secreÃÃo nasal, o ensaio foi capaz de confirmar o diagnÃstico em 89,7% dos casos multibacilares (MB), e 73,3% dos casos paucibacilares (PB). A sensibilidade foi de 100% na analise de biÃpsias de pacientes MB. O nÃmero de bacilos detectados nas amostras de secreÃÃo nasal de pacientes com hansenÃase se manteve no intervalo de 1,39 x 103 a 8,02 x 105 bacilos, enquanto a detecÃÃo em biÃpsia de pacientes MB variou de 1,87 x103 a 1,50 x 106. A PCR em tempo real à mais sensÃvel do que a PCR convencional e pode ser utilizada como uma ferramenta complementar para o diagnÃstico clÃnico e histopatolÃgico da hansenÃase. / Mycobacterium leprae, the etiologic agent of leprosy, is not cultivable in axenic medium. The quantification of bacilli performed by skin bacilloscopy and histopathology is useful for the clinical classification of leprosy and treatment monitoring. However, this methodology yields low results regards to sensitivity and specificity. On the other way, the real-time quantitative PCR (qPCR) is a sensitive and specific assay that allows quantification of a varied of samples and also can be used for differential diagnosis of many pathogens. To this date, no studies have evaluated the sensitivity and specificity of qPCR for the diagnosis of leprosy from nasal secretion samples. Therefore, this study aimed at detecting and quantifying DNA from M. leprae by qPCR from nasal secretion and biopsy samples from leprosy cases, correlating with clinical and bacteriological index. We analyzed 61 samples of nasal secretion and 19 biopsy specimens of skin lesion (paired) from confirmed leprosy cases seen at the National Reference Center for Sanitary Dermatology Dona LibÃnia. All samples were subjected to DNA extraction followed by amplification by nested PCR of a region of 238 bp which targets a RLEP2 repetitive sequence. The samples were subjected to quantification of 16S rRNA region of the genome of M. leprae by qPCR, which specificity was verified by amplicon melting temperature (Tm = 79.5  C). The method was able to detect amounts over to 20 fg of M. leprae DNA, equivalent to four bacilli units. Nasal secretion assay was able to confirm the diagnosis in 89.7% of the multibacillary cases (MB) and 73.3% of the paucibacillary cases (PB). In addition, MB patient biopsies sensitivity was 100%. The number of bacilli detected in nasal secretion samples from leprosy patients ranged from 1.39 x 10 to 8.02 x 105 bacilli, while detection in MB patient biopsy ranged from 1,87 x 103 to 1,50 x 106. The real-time PCR is more sensitive than conventional PCR and can be used as a complementary tool for the clinical and histopathological diagnosis of leprosy.