GENETIC HETEROGENEITY CHARACTERIZATION OF A Prorocentrum minimum BLOOM SAMPLE USING DNA MELT-CURVE ANALYSIS, HIGH RESOLUTION MELT-CURVE ANALYSIS AND REAL-TIME RAPD-PCR

Traditional morphology-based methods can be supported by molecular techniques to identify, discriminate and ecologically characterize the various states of species within the bioindicator community, especially for monitoring the phytoplankton which can be a very efficient indication of ecological and anthropogenic changes in the marine environment. P. minimum is a potentially toxic, bloom-forming bioindicator phytoplankton species in the Sea of Marmara that should be monitored routinely as an indication of improveing water quality of the remediated Golden Horn estuary. In our study, intra-specific genetic variation of Prorocentrum minimum was detected with primers for large subunit ribosomal DNA (LSU rDNA) and chloroplast DNA (cpDNA), and RAPD-PCR as a genome-wide DNA variation detection tool. Post-PCR analysis was done by fluorescence-based Melt-Curve Analysis (MCA) as well as High Resolution Melt (HRM) and real-time RAPD-PCR which can be a preliminary assessment methodology for determining genetic variation of Prorocentrum minimum in the Sea of Marmara, Golden Horn estuary. This is a case-study for preliminary determination of interspecific and intraspecific molecular diversity within taxa of algal blooms with the above-mentioned methods.