• Journal of Environmental Science International
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• v.32 no.5
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• pp.315-328
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• 2023

Cyanobacteria have been used as pollution indicator species in freshwater ecosystems, and identifying their fluctuations can be an important part about management of surface waters globally. Cyanotoxins produced by cyanobacteria are directly or indirectly a threat to human and environmental health. In order to confirm the potential risk of these cyanotoxins, the fluctuations of phytoplankton and phylogenetic analysis of cyanotoxin synthetase genes were conducted at each point in the Yeongsan River water system in Gwangju from November 2021 to October 2022. Diatoms which grow well in winter were dominant at 99.4 ~ 99.5%, and diatoms and green algae were dominant from the spring to autumn when the water temperature rises. Stephanodiscus spp. were dominant at 92.7 to 97.5 % at all sites in the winter, and Aulacoseira spp., which grow in warm water temperatures, were dominant in summer and autumn. Microcystis aeruginosa was dominant at 25.2% in summer only at site 5. mcyB and anaC have been detected as cyanotoxin synthetase genes. The phylogenetic tree of anaC could be divided into two groups (Group 1 & Group 2). Group 1 contained Aphanizomenon sp. and Cuspidothrix issatschenkoi. It is combined with Aphanizomenon sp. and Cuspidothrix issatschenkoi, which are known to produce cyanotoxins.