Phytoxigene™ CyanoDTec is a molecular (DNA) based technology (Real Time PCR) that detects and quantifies the presence of Cyanobacteria (a.k.a. blue green algae) and their toxin producing genes in aquatic environments. Not all Cyanobacteria produce toxins; the presence of an algal bloom does not confirm or deny toxicity.
The Phytoxigene™ test quantitates both the amount of overall Cyanobacteria present in a water sample and the number of genes responsible for the production of the toxins.
Phytoxigene provides an alternative to currently available toxin testing methods which are incompatible with many laboratory operations. Toxin testing is generally considered high skill, time consuming, unreliable and expensive unless done at scale. Testing done via LC-MS is accurate but extremely expensive and often takes 2 weeks for results.
Phytoxigene’s low cost kits provide confirmation of toxin producing genes within 3 hours. The kits are straightforward to use after a 1/2 day training.
Additional Product Information
205-0050 Total Cyanobacteria Assay; 16s/Internal Amplification Control
205-0051 Toxin I Assay; Microcystin (mcyE), cylindrospermopsin (cyrA) and saxitoxin (sxtA) producition genes
720-0234 Positive Control for Toxin II assay
Phytoxigene™ CyanoNAS are Nucleic Acid Standards for the CyanoDTec kit. The standards are accurate and standardised concentrations of the target genes used in the CyanoDTec test. The standards were commissioned and developed by the National Measurement Institute (NMI), a Division of the Australian Department of Industry and a participant in the International Bureau of Weights and Measures (BIPM) Consultative Committee for Amount of Substance (CCQM). There are 5 standards in each kit 100, 1,000, 10,000 and 1,000,000 copies per reaction for the 16s ribosomal RNA gene of Cyanobacteria, and for each biotoxin gene target that is responsible for the production of microcystin and nodularin (mcyE/ndaF) , cylindrospermopsin (cyrA) and saxitoxin (sxtA). The reference material has been designed to verify and/or validate methodologies for detecting toxin producing cyanobacteria using DNA-based technology.