Theerasak Somdee
Doctor of Philosophy, (Microbiology)
Study Completed: 2010
College of Sciences
Citation
Thesis Title
Biodegradation of cyanobacterial hepatotoxins [Dha7] MC-LR and MC-LR by natural aquatic bacteria
Read article at Massey Research Online: 
Cyanobacterial toxins in drinking water sources are a growing problem in New Zealand and worldwide. Mr Theerasak developed a modified extraction and purification method to obtain microcystins from bloom samples, for use in biodegradation experiments, by isolating a bacterium from Lake Rotoiti that proved effective at degrading microcystins in less than three days after exposure. Small scale biodegradation experiments proved successful in removing microcystins from water, demonstrating the potential use of this bacterium for larger scale bioremediation of drinking water sources contaminated with microcystins.
Supervisors
Dr John Ruck
Associate Professor Rachel Page