Quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) cyanotoxin data for 21 sites on Lake Okeechobee and the Okeechobee waterway, Florida, USA collected monthly from March 2019 through October 2021

Quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) data were compiled for the biosynthesis genes of five toxins of interest produced by cyanobacteria as well as an internal control. Sample deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) were collected from 21 sites which includes 17 sites from Lake Okeechobee, and four sites from the Caloosahatchee River and the St. Lucie River. Samples were collected on a monthly basis from March 2019 through October 2021, provided water levels were high enough for a sample to be collected. Samples from Lake Okeechobee were collected by the South Florida Water Management District (SFWMD) and samples from the Caloosahatchee and St. Lucie Rivers were collected by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). Environmental DNA was extracted soon after collection and samples were analyzed via qPCR throughout the sampling period. Each qPCR assay tests for a different cyanotoxin biosynthesis gene with one assay testing for cyanobacterial 16S DNA as an internal control. The five toxin biosynthesis genes tested were microcystin (mcyE), nodularin (ndaF), saxitoxin (sxtA), anatoxin (anaC), and cylindrospermopsin (cyrA). Results are reported in the number of gene copies per microliter and represent the cyanotoxin biosynthesis gene concentrations in the Lake Okeechobee watershed for the study period.

本数据集汇编了蓝藻产生的5种目标毒素的生物合成基因相关的定量聚合酶链式反应（quantitative polymerase chain reaction，qPCR）数据，同时纳入内参基因的对应检测数据。脱氧核糖核酸（deoxyribonucleic acid，DNA）样本共采集自21个采样点，其中17个采样点位于奥基乔比湖，剩余4个采样点分别位于卡卢萨哈奇河与圣露西河。样本采集周期为2019年3月至2021年10月，每月开展一次采样，仅在水位满足采样条件时方可进行实际采样。奥基乔比湖的样本由南佛罗里达水资源管理区（South Florida Water Management District，SFWMD）采集，卡卢萨哈奇河与圣露西河的样本则由美国地质调查局（U.S. Geological Survey，USGS）采集。环境DNA（environmental DNA）样本在采集后尽快完成提取，且在整个采样周期内均通过qPCR完成分析。每一轮qPCR检测均针对一种不同的蓝藻毒素生物合成基因，其中一轮检测以蓝藻16S DNA作为内参基因。本次检测的5种毒素生物合成基因分别为微囊藻毒素基因（microcystin，mcyE）、节球藻毒素基因（nodularin，ndaF）、石房蛤毒素基因（saxitoxin，sxtA）、鱼腥藻毒素基因（anatoxin，anaC）以及柱孢藻毒素基因（cylindrospermopsin，cyrA）。研究结果以每微升基因拷贝数进行报告，代表了本研究周期内奥基乔比湖流域内蓝藻毒素生物合成基因的浓度水平。