1. RuBisCo Gene Diversity in Cyanobacteria of Lake Menomin
Background & Purpose
Lake Menomin (Menomonie, WI, Fig. 1) has high phosphorous levels and
experiences blooms of cyanobacteria that adversely affect the health of the freshwater ecosystem (Fig. 2).
Ribulose bisphosphate carboxylase (RuBisCO) is a key protein in the carbon fixation pathway of cyanobacteria. The diversity of this gene was analyzed in Lake Menomin to determine targets for population control.
Lauren Bryans
Supervised by Dr. Stephen Nold
Methods
Collect Water Column Samples
Amplify RuBisCO gene using the PCR
Isolate Genomic DNA
Determine Closest Relatives in GenBank (Table 1)
Compile and analyze sequences in BioEdit (Fig. 3)
Clone, and purify DNA, obtain sequence Data
Figure 4: Amino Acid neighbor joining phylogenetic tree. Our data indicate that the diversity of cyanobacteria in L. Menomin is low.
Figure 1: Lake Menomin
Assemble phylogenetic trees (Figs. 4, 5)
Results
Figure 5: DNA Distance Matrix Tree. The tree indicates that the diversity of cyanobacteria is low in L. Menomin.
Conclusion
Phylogenies indicated that our sequences were closely related to Rhodopseudomonas palustris and Microcystis aeruginosa (Figs. 4,5). The diversity of cyanobacterial RuBisCO genes is low in Lake Menomin, suggesting fewer targets for efforts designed to control populations of these nuisance organisms.
Source
Distribution of RuBisCO Genotypes along a Redox Gradient in Mono Lake, California
Bruno J. Giri, Nasreen Bano, and James T. Hollibaugh
Appl Environ Microbiol. 2004 June; 70(6): 3443–3448. 
Figure 2: Cyanobacterial bloom issue in Lake Menomin
Figure 3: Raw RuBisCO sequence data compiled in BioEdit
Table 1: Table of the closest relatives of our sequences based on GenBank data.