Proyecto de Tesis

1. Characterization of cyanotoxins
cilindrospermopsin and microcystine in
water bodies of the Ecuadorian Sierra
and Amazon
Michelle Carolina Rojas Romero
Scientific Director: PhD Pablo Castillejo Pons
MET741

2. Background
(Guamán et al., 2016)
 Cyanobacteria are photototrophic
prokaryotic microorganisms.
 Some species have the ability to
produce cyanotoxins
 With the necessary nutrients and
the right temperature , they form
blooms, which have serious
environmental consequences and
public health risks.
https://www.sciencephoto.com/media/643616/view/anabaena-cyanobacteria-light-micrograph

3. Problem Statement
 The global warming and the
temperature is increasing the
cyanobacteria toxic potential
 In Ecuador there are few studies
and information about
cyanobacteria and cyanotoxins
 Molecular techniques to detect
cyanotoxins has not been used in
the country and it is an
impediment to taking preventive
measures to avoid environmental
and public health problems. (Kubickova et al., 2019)

4. Objectives
 General
 To characterize the cyanotoxins cilindrospermopsin and
microcystine present in water bodies of the Ecuadorian
Sierra and Amazon
 Specifics
 To diagnose the presence of the cyanotoxins
cilindrospermopsin and microcystine in water bodies of
the Ecuadorian Sierra and Amazon
 To analyze the variability of the Cyr E gene among the
Ecuadorian Sierra and Amazon
 To analyze the variability of the Mcy B gene among the
Ecuadorian Sierra and Amazon

5. Justification
 It is important to reduce of the
incidence of blooms and
cyanotoxins
 The study of cyanobacteria and
their toxic potential is fundamental
to carry out an adequate
environmental management
avoiding public health problems
 Molecular techniques provide
promising tools to diagnose the
existence of cyanobacteria and
cyanotoxins in environmental
samples
(Arturo et al., 2017)
(Lu et al., 2006).

6. Materials and methods
(García, 2015). (Bravo , 2017) (Rivera, 2017)
(Salcedo, 2019).
(Ochoa, 2014)
(Luna, 2017) (Andrade, 2017)
(Ochoa, 2014)

7. Expected results
 Detection of bodies of water with the presence of
genes coding for the cyanotoxins cylindrospermopsin
(Cyr E) and microcystin (Mcy B).
 Obtaining the sequences for Cyr E and Mcy B.
 Obtaining a phylogenetic tree of the sequences of the
Cyr E gene.
 Obtaining a phylogenetic tree of the sequences of the
Mcy B gene.

8. Bibliographic references
 Aguilera, A., & Valeria Amé, M. (2011). Healthcare waste
management View project Calidad de agua y salud View
project. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/321228174
 Arturo, E., Uriza, C., Dolores, A., Martínez, A., Sanjurjo, M. A.,
Asencio Martínez, A. D., & Aboal, M.
(2017). Cianotoxinas: efectos ambientales y sanitarios. Medidas de
prevención Cyanotoxins: environmental and health effects.
Prevention measures (Vol. 27, Issue •).
 Bravo Loor, A. V. (2017). Caracterización de microalgas de
la laguna de Limoncocha y optimización de
las condiciones de cultivo in vitro para la obtención de biomasa.
 Buratti, F. M., Manganelli, M., Vichi, S., Stefanelli, M., Scardala,
S., Testai, E., & Funari, E. (2017). Cyanotoxins: producing
organisms, occurrence, toxicity, mechanism of action and human
health toxicological risk evaluation. In Archives of Toxicology (Vol.
91, Issue 3, pp. 1049–1130). Springer
Verlag. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00204-016-1913-6