Analysis of microbial community composition in environmental water systems.

• Main Author: Chan, Abigail Hui En.
• Other Authors: School of Biological Sciences
• Format: Final Year Project
• Language: English
• Published: 2012
• Subjects: DRNTU::Science
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10356/48858
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

Singapore lacks natural freshwater catchment areas, aquifers or lakes for supply of drinking water. A comprehensive network of rivers, drains and canals channel rain and stormwater to the 17 reservoirs that are located throughout the island. Harmful algal blooms and microbial contamination of these waters are a risk to human health and therefore, it is important to monitor for pathogens in these reservoirs. To detect the presence of toxigenic bacteria, polymerase chain reaction using primers that target genes involved in the biosynthesis of hepatotoxins (cylindrospermopsin, microcystin and nodularin) were applied to fresh and marine waters that were sampled from Pandan Reservoir and Raffles Marina. Datasets generated from this work suggest the presence of toxin producing cyanobacteria in both the fresh and marine water bodies.