The influence of cell-bound microcystins on the survival time and feeding rates of six Daphnia clones belonging to five common species was studied. To do this, the effects of the microcystin-producing Microcystis strain PCC7806 and its mutant, which has been genetically engineered to knock out microcystin synthesis, were compared. Additionally, the relationship between microcystin ingestion rat...

BACKGROUND Microcystin-producing Microcystis bloom is a severe water problem in the world. Some reports indicate that chronic exposure to microcystin may result in liver damage in adults, but information on effects in children is limited. OBJECTIVE We investigated the relationship between microcystin exposure and liver damage in children. METHODS We measured microcystin concentrations in dr...

BACKGROUND Microcystin-LR, a cyclic heptapeptide, possesses the ability to inhibit the serine/threonine protein phosphatases PP1 and PP2A and, consequently, exhibits acute hepatocytotoxicity. Moreover, microcystin-LR induces cellular proliferation, resulting in tumor-promoting activity in hepatocytes. However, mechanisms that regulate the balance between cell death and proliferation after micro...

To investigate the abundance of active and inactive microcystin genotypes in populations of the filamentous cyanobacterium Planktothrix spp., individual filaments were grown as clonal strains in the laboratory and analysed for microcystin synthetase (mcy) genes and microcystin. Twenty-three green-pigmented strains of P. agardhii originating mostly from shallow water bodies fell into two groups,...

Photochemical reactions of microcystin-LR, a toxic compound produced by some blue green algae, were investigated. Ultraviolet absorption of microcystin-LR was assessed. Time-dependent density functional theory (TDDFT) calculations indicated that absorption peak at 238 nm was mainly due to excitation of electrons from the linear chain structure Adda of microcystin-LR. Irradiation of microcystin-...

Toxic cyanobacterial blooms are increasing in prevalence. Microcystins are the most commonly produced cyanotoxin. Despite extensive research the variables regulating microcystin production remain unclear. Using a RT-QPCR assay that allowed the precise measurement of mcyE transcriptional gene expression and an ELISA that enabled small changes in total microcystin concentrations to be monitored, ...

A naïve (unimmunized) human semisynthetic phage display library was employed to isolate recombinant antibody fragments against the cyanobacterial hepatotoxin microcystin-LR. Selected antibody scFv genes were cloned into a soluble expression vector and expressed in Escherichia coli for characterization against purified microcystin-LR by competition enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). The ...

Activated charcoal (SuperChar) has been recommended for therapeutic use against poisoning by several toxic agents, but it has not been tested against microcystin-LR toxicosis. Microcystin-LR, a cyclic heptapeptide isolated from fresh water blue-green algae, has been shown to be a potent hepatotoxin in animals and in man. Studies were performed to determine the degree of in vitro adsorption of m...

The production of toxin from bloom, scum or mat forming cyanobacteria in fresh, brackish and marine waters is becoming a global issue. The toxins produced comprise mainly hepatotoxins and neurotoxins. Of these toxins microcystin is a cyclic heptapeptide produced by Microcystis, Planktothrix, Anabaena, Nostoc, Hapalosiphon and Anabaenopsis. Microcystins (MCs) comprise more than 80 variants and a...

Black band disease (BBD) is a migrating, cyanobacterial dominated, sulfide-rich microbial mat that moves across coral colonies lysing coral tissue. While it is known that BBD sulfate-reducing bacteria contribute to BBD pathogenicity by production of sulfide, additional mechanisms of toxicity may be involved. Using HPLC/MS, the cyanotoxin microcystin was detected in 22 field samples of BBD colle...