A lake is rather more than a body of water where we take a stroll on sunny days. It is greater than a source of fresh water surrounded by nature and tranquility.
Game of the Lakes a Important role in our ecosystem And in our day by day life. They provide drinking water, are home to a formidable diversity of life forms and support essential economic activities.
Unfortunately, the water quality of those precious environments is Threats are increasingly being made. from various environmental aspects and human activities.
To protect and conserve lakes, it will be important to observe their health status proactively, promptly and effectively. As aquatic ecology researchers, we kept this in mind when developing a brand new, progressive technology to measure the health of microorganisms living in lakes by monitoring them.
Our planet and its ecosystems are in transition.
Our planet is consistently changing and its ecosystems are showing its effects.
Lakes, particularly, are being affected by quite a lot of aspects: Industrial and agricultural pollution, road salt, eutrophication And Rising temperature resulting from climate change.
They contribute to the deterioration of water quality and create an imbalance within the aquatic ecosystem.
For example, outbreaks of cyanobacteria, or Blue-green algaerepresents a significant threat to human and environmental health. Although microscopic, cyanobacteria can form masses visible to the naked eye, called blooms, as they grow and clump together.
Some species of cyanobacteria responsible for the formation of blooms produce toxins (cyanotoxins) that can contaminate drinking water.harming aquatic fauna and causing beach closures. Algal blooms also can threaten recreational and tourism activities and native economies.
And unfortunately, with global warming, The prevalence of cyanobacteria in our lakes is expected to increase..
(Christophe Langevin), Provided by creator
The microbiome: an indicator of lake health
A single drop of water in a lake can harbor hundreds, and even thousands and thousands, of microbes.
These microbes make up the lake's microbiome, a very important indicator of its health. In other words, if something is unsuitable with the lake, These microbes would be the first to show this problem..
It's a bit like your digestive system is acting up resulting from an imbalance in your gut microbiome.
Microbes, although microscopic, are silent caretakers of our aquatic ecosystems. Access to this primary line of knowledge is due to this fact essential to understanding the health status of our lakes and any changes in them.
How can we get this invaluable information quickly and efficiently?
(Christophe Langevin), Provided by creator
Genomic tools: a brand new generation of ecosystem monitoring
This is where advanced configuration tools come in useful. Environmental DNAor eDNA, is a mix of genetic material from organisms that live in a specific environment.
Metagenomics, for instance, gives us access to the DNA sequence of every individual, called a genome, of all of the microbes in a water sample. This tool provides an entire picture of the lake's microbiome composition, including species which might be difficult to detect.
Optical microscopy techniques, traditionally used to observe cyanobacteria, can magnify the organisms as much as a thousand times, making them easier to see and count. Although effective, this system still requires a big investment of time and relies on visual identification of species by taxonomists. What's more, unlike sequencing tools, it cannot detect very small microbes.
The eDNA sequencing approach can due to this fact be used as a complement to optical microscopy, to limit potential identification errors. It also has the advantage that it could be used directly in the sphere. New generations of sequencing tools will be taken into the sphere and supply a profile of the microbiome in a matter of hours.
Using sequencing techniques, we are able to detect rapid changes within the microbial community that indicate environmental imbalances. For example, sudden increases in cyanobacteria will be seen before they seem, As they open.to look These advanced tools make it possible for environmental managers to take proactive measures.
RoSHAB innovation
Among the recent innovations in sequencing, Roshab The tool, developed by our team in collaboration with Université Laval researchers on the Institut National de la recherche scientifique, stands out for its ability to annotate the genomes of lake microbes in real time.
This progressive tool uses metagenomics to observe microbial diversity and detect potential imbalances. Designed to be used by environmental managers, RosHAB is a practical and rapid method for continuous monitoring of aquatic ecosystems in the sphere.
(Naila Barbosa da Costa), Provided by creator
Practical implications and limitations
Integrating genomic tools into lake and aquatic ecosystem management policies requires training and adaptation for monitoring teams.
While these technologies offer many benefits, in addition they present many challenges. First, bioinformatics evaluation isn’t straightforward and must be made accessible to non-experts.
In addition, data evaluation will be complicated by changes in microbial diversity from season to season. Regular sampling is required monthly, or much more ceaselessly, to acquire representative results.
Monitoring the health of lakes is critical in view of the increasing threats posed by climate change and human activities.
Lakes are essential ecosystems and require modern, proactive monitoring methods to guard them. Genomic tools, reminiscent of RoshAB, represent a very important advance on this field, offering efficient means to evaluate and reply to environmental threats.
By understanding and monitoring the health of the microbes that live in lakes, we are able to higher conserve these resources in order that future generations can enjoy them as much as we did on summer days. are