EnviroScience Helps Protect Our Water from Harmful Algal Blooms (HABs) through qPCR Testing

Microcystis aeruginosa and Sphaerospermopsis cf.  torques-reginae (formerly Anabaena cf. torques-reginae) Dunns Creek, FL

As the summer continues to warm up, EnviroScience reminds you that we can help ensure that your favorite lake or river is safe for drinking or swimming by testing for harmful algae and algal toxins like microcystin.  These toxins are of particular concern because they are dangerous at extremely low levels, making them more toxic than better known poisons like snake venom, botulism toxin, or even ricin.

In addition to our complete algae/diatom identification and algal toxin testing services, EnviroScience now offers qPCR testing to determine whether the algae in your lake have the potential for producing algal toxins. qPCR, or quantitative polymerase chain reaction, is a type of genomic testing that looks for the specific genes responsible for producing toxins, and can provide some assurance that a population of blue-green algae won’t start suddenly producing one or more of these dangerous compounds. EnviroScience can conduct qPCR tests for the following toxins: Microcystin/Nodularin, Cylindrospermopsin, and Saxitoxin. 

To read about EnviroScience’s other harmful algal bloom testing methods, click here.