In this paper, we describe the seasonal dynamics of three common microcystins (MCs; MC-RR, MC-YR, and MC-LR) in the whole body, hepatopancreas, intestine, gonad, foot, remaining tissue, and offspring of a freshwater snail, Bellamya aeruginosa, from Gonghu Bay of Lake Taihu, China, where dense toxic Microcystis blooms occur in the warm seasons. Microcystins were determined by liquid chromatograp...

Cyanobacterial harmful blooms (CyanoHABs) that produce microcystins are appearing in an increasing number of freshwater ecosystems worldwide, damaging quality of water for use by human and aquatic life. Heterotrophic bacteria assemblages are thought to be important in transforming and detoxifying microcystins in natural environments. However, little is known about their taxonomic composition or...

Microcystins are cyclic peptides produced by cyanobacteria, which can be harmful to humans and animals when ingested. Eight of the (more than) 90 microcystin variants presently characterized, contain the amino acid tryptophan. The well-researched oxidation products of tryptophan; kynurenine, oxindolylalanine, and N-formylkynurenine, have been previously identified in intact polypeptides but mic...

The kinetics and biochemical effects of microcystins in rainbow trout were studied with freeze-dried toxic cells of Microcystis aeruginosa, strain PCC 7806. Following in vivo exposure the changes in liver histology were observed over a 72 hr period and the absorption of microcystins from the gastrointestinal tract into the blood and liver, as well as the inhibition of hepatic protein phosphatas...

Studies of genotoxicity in fish caused by cyanobacterial microcystins can be useful both in determining the sensitivity of native species, as well as comparing exposure routes. The genotoxicity caused by the microcystins LR and LA from a bloom collected in a eutrophic lake, was revealed in the fish Astyanaxbimaculatus, a native species from South America. LC50 (72 h) was determined as 242.81 μg...

The presence of toxic marine cyanobacteria and secondary metabolites, microcystins, were studied in Thermaikos Gulf in Central Macedonia in Greece, during the period from March 2013 to March 2014. Toxic marine cyanobacteria were isolated in marine agar and identified with PCR using primers based on 16S rDNA. The presence of microcystins in water extraction was detected by immunoassay (competiti...

The occurrence of microcystins (MC) during aquatic blooms of cyanobacteria in eutrophicated freshwater body has increasingly become an environmental and health concern worldwide. An experimental study was conducted to investigate the adsorption of two common variants of microcystins, MCLR and MCLW, onto SPM at different pH values. The results showed that most microcystins spiked into an SPM sol...

Microcystins are cyclic peptides produced by multiple cyanobacterial genera. After accumulation in the liver of animals they inhibit eukaryotic serine/threonine protein phosphatases, causing liver disease or death. Accurate detection/quantification of microcystins is essential to ensure safe water resources and to enable research on this toxin. Previous methodological comparisons have focused o...

The presence of blue-green algae (BGA) toxins in surface waters used for drinking water sources and recreation is receiving increasing attention around the world as a public health concern. However, potential risks from exposure to these toxins in contaminated health food products that contain BGA have been largely ignored. BGA products are commonly consumed in the United States, Canada, and Eu...

Harmful cyanobacterial blooms pose an environmental health hazard due to the release of water-soluble cyanotoxins. One most prevalent cyanotoxins in nature is microcystins (MCs), a class cyclic heptapeptide hepatotoxins, and they are produced by several common cyanobacteria aquatic environments. Once released from cells, MCs subjected physical chemical biological transformations natural can als...