Changes in the Phytoplankton community of Lake Donghu since the 1980s

The phytoplankton of Lake Donghu was compared between two periods (i.e., 1982-83 and 1999-2001). During 1982-1983, Lake Donghu was characterized by cyanobacterial blooms, very high summer phytoplankton biomass, and a spring clear-water phase. However, during 1999-2001, the lake was dominated by dinophytes and diatoms and had a relatively low phytoplankton biomass and a very turbid state.. Increased stocking of silver carp and bighead carp during the interim years eliminated cyanobacterial blooms and large-bodied daphnids from the lake, creating favorable conditions for growth of the small-sized algae.

Tissue distributions and seasonal dynamics of the hepatotoxic microcystins-LR and -RR in two freshwater shrimps, Palaemon modestus and Macrobrachium nipponensis, from a large shallow, eutrophic lake of the subtropical China

So far no information is available on microcystin (MC) contents in shrimps, prawns or crayfish from natural freshwaters. Tissue distributions and seasonal dynamics of the hepatotoxic MC-LR and -RR in two freshwater shrimps, Palaemon modestus and Macrobrachium nipponensis were studied monthly (during June-November, 2003) in a Chinese lake containing toxic cyanobacterial blooms. The shrimps P. modestus and M. nipponensis accumulated high MCs not only in the hepatopancreas (mean 4.29 and 0.53 mu g g(-1) DW, respectively) but also in the gonad (mean 1.17 and 0.48 mu g g-1 DW, respectively), and the crayfish Procambarus clarkii accumulated as much as 0.93 mu g g(-1) DW in the gonad. This indicates that gonads of these invertebrates are the second important target organ of MCs. P. modestus apparently accumulated more MCs in their organs than M. nipponensis, which might be a reflection of their difference in trophic niche. Eggs of the shrimps accumulated 8.4% (M. nipponensis, 0.27 mu g g(-1) DW) and 29.0% (P. modestus, 2.34 mu g g(-1) DW) of total toxin burden, indicating that MCs had been transferred into offspring from their adults. Among the shrimp muscle samples analyzed, 31% were above the provisional WHO TDI level, suggesting the risk of consuming shrimps in Lake Chaohu. (c) 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Effects of microcystins on the growth and the activity of superoxide dismutase and peroxidase of rape (Brassica napus L.) and rice (Oryza sativa L.)

Microcystins are naturally occurring hepatotoxic cyclic heptapeptides produced by some toxic freshwater cyanobacterial species. In this study, crude extract of toxic cyanobacterial blooms from Dianchi Lake in southwestern China was used to determine the effects of microcystins on rape (Brassica napus L.) and rice (Oryza sativa L.). Experiments were carried out on a range of doses of the extract (equivalent to 0, 0.024, 0.12, 0.6 and 3 mug MC-LR/ml). Investigations showed that exposure to microcystins inhibited the growth and development of both rice and rape seedlings, however, microcystins had more powerful inhibition effect on rape than rice in germination percentage of seeds and seedling height. Microcystins significantly inhibited the elongation of primary roots of rape and rice seedlings. Determination of the activities of peroxidase and superoxide dismutase demonstrated that microcystin stress was manifested as an oxidative stress. Using ELISA, microcystins were examined from the extract of exposed rape and rice seedlings, indicating that consumption of edible plants exposed to microcystins via irrigation route may have health risks. Significantly different levels of recovered microcystins between exposed rice and rape seedlings Suggested that there might be different tolerant mechanisms toward microcystins. (C) 2004 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Studies on the effects of silver carp (Hypophthalmichthys molitrix) on the Phytoplankton in a shallow hypereutrophic lake through an enclosure experiment

The responses of nutrients, water transparency, zooplankton and phytoplankton to a gradient of silver carp biomass were assessed using enclosure methods. The gradient of four silver carp biomass levels was set as follows: 0, 116, 176 and 316 g m(-2). Nutrients did not show any statistically significant differences among the treatments. An Outburst of Daphnia only occurred in fishless enclosures where phytoplankton biomass was the lowest and water clarity significantly increased. While among fish enclosures, the small-sized Moina micrura dominated throughout the experiment and both zooplankton and phytoplankton biomasses decreased with increased fish biomass. No large colonial cyanobacterial blooms occurred in the fishless enclosures as predicted. This might be due to low water temperature. short experiment time and the occurrence of large bodied Daphnia in our experiment. Cryptophyta was the most dominant group in most of the enclosures and the lake water throughout the experiment. The fishless enclosure had much lower proportion of Cyanophyta but higher proportion of Trachelomonas sp.

溶藻菌群对铜绿微囊藻的溶藻效应及其作用机理研究

水华暴发是一个世界性的问题，近年来在发展中国家显得尤其严重。水华暴发给环境和公众健康带来巨大灾难，一些蓝藻产生的毒素可以造成鱼类、鸟禽和家畜的死亡，而臭名昭著的微囊藻产生的微囊藻毒素更是有强烈致癌效应。因此，寻找控制水华藻类的有效方法非常迫切。在利用物理和化学方法处理不甚理想的情况下，利用溶藻细菌控藻成为一个新的研究方向。溶藻细菌一般直接从富营养化水体中分离，杀藻活力对有害蓝藻具有较强的选择性而不危害其它生物，尤其适合在水华发生初期使用，可以在短时间内达到阻止藻类增殖的效果。本研究富集分离到一个高效溶解铜绿微囊藻的溶藻菌群，对其溶藻效应和溶藻机制进行了探索研究。 1溶藻菌群的富集筛选及其溶微囊藻效果 富集筛选得到一个有明显抑藻效果的菌群，它对铜绿微囊藻有显著溶藻效果。与对照组相比，加入富集的溶藻菌后，第4 d开始出现溶藻现象，6~8 d出现明显的溶藻效果，8 d后测得叶绿素去除率在85%以上。 2 溶藻菌群的作用范围及溶藻特性 富集分离到的溶藻菌群对铜绿微囊藻和念珠藻有显著溶藻作用，对水华微囊藻和其它几株受试微囊藻没有明显溶藻效应。该溶藻菌群不仅可以在液体中溶解铜绿微囊藻，生长在固体平板上的藻苔也有一定的溶藻效应，生成溶藻空斑。保证快速溶藻的最大稀释度可以达到1/100, 000。 3 环境因子对菌群溶藻效力的影响 试验发现，不同的pH、温度、和光照条件下，溶藻菌群溶藻效力明显不同，且不同种类的氮源对其溶藻作用也有一定影响。这些条件对该菌群溶藻作用的影响，在相当的程度上可能取决于它们对藻和细菌两者的生长状况的影响综合。 4 溶藻菌群的溶藻作用机理 溶藻菌液过滤除菌和煮沸灭菌处理后溶藻液，未见明显的溶藻效果，只有原液具有很好的溶藻效果。因此可初步确定，蓝藻细胞的溶解可能是由溶藻菌直接接触藻细胞产生的作用效果。显微镜观察发现，细菌在溶藻的过程中频繁地接触藻细胞并侵入藻细胞，破坏进而裂解杀死藻细胞。这也进一步说明了此溶藻菌是通过直接方式杀藻。 5 溶藻菌群的菌群结构解析 分离有溶藻效果的纯菌的多次尝试都没有成功。结合DGGE和16S rDNA文库综合分析发现：Rubritepida菌，假单胞菌和鞘氨醇单胞菌是存在于铜绿微囊藻中的三种伴生细菌。加入富集的溶藻菌群后，菌群结构发生明显的变化，Rubritepida菌、假单胞菌消失，混合菌群则包含未培养黄杆菌，鞘氨醇单胞菌和噬氢菌，其中黄杆菌是优势菌群，并且细菌种群结构的变化与藻细胞消亡之间有显著的相关性。通过菌种的分离鉴定与DGGE和16S rDNA文库的测序结果比较，一些未培养菌可能在溶藻过程中起重要调控作用。 6 溶藻细菌控藻应用基础 (1) 扩大规模的模拟水华实验进一步确定了细菌对微囊藻的强烈溶解作用。 (2) 铜绿微囊藻(Microcystis aeruginosa 905, zc)、微囊藻(Microcystis spp., zd)和溶藻菌群共培养试验表明，zc可以抑制zd生长，而溶藻菌群可以溶zc。 本研究是第一次报道混合菌群的溶藻效应。该溶藻菌群对带有藻际细菌的铜绿微囊藻具有高效的溶藻效力，表明它对自然界中存在的带菌铜绿微囊藻和其它一些蓝藻的生消具有一定的控制作用。对进一步研究菌藻关系与生态学作用，以及对富营养化湖泊和水库水体中蓝藻暴发的防控，该菌群具有一定的应用潜力。 Cyanobacterial blooms break out frequently all over the world, especially in developing countries. Blooms create enormous disasters to public health and to the environment. Some cyanobacterial blooms produce extremely toxic substances that have killed fish, domestic animals and birds. It has been well known that microcystins, a hepatoxin produced by Microcystis, can promote tumors in humans. So it is very important to find an effective method for controlling the growth of the bloom-forming algae. Measures for controlling such kind of algae include physical, chemic and biologic means, but the former two may damage the aquatic environment and require high-energy inputs. The alternative approach for the elimination of nuisance algae involves the application of algicidal bacteria. The algicidal bacteria, which are nontoxic to other organisms and most of which are isolated from the eutrophic lake in situ, may be potential microbial algaecides. In the initial stages of the water blooms, they are able to restrain the biomass or multiplication of the bloom-forming algae in a short time. In order to use algicidal bacteria to suppress blooms of M. aeruginosa, we isolated a bacterial culture capable of lysing the noxious cyanobacteria M. aeruginosa. In this paper we described some properties of the bacterial culture and its growth-inhibiting or algicidal effects on the growth of M. aeruginosa, and investigated its algicidal mechanisms. 1 Enrichment of a microbial culture that lyses Microcystis aeruginosa A mixed bacterial culture was isolated from a hypereutrophic pond and showed significant algicidal activity against the noxious Microcystis aeruginosa. Algae lysis would be seen obviously 4 days later when the algae culture was killed and became yellow contrast to no-addition controls, and chlorophyll a (chl-a) reduction went beyond 85% 8 days later. 2 The host range and some other algicidal feature of the mixed algicidal culture. Microcystis aeruginosa, Nostoc sp., were susceptible to the mixed algicidal culture, while the lytic effects of this mixed culture on Microcystis flos-aquae and some other tested Microcystis were feeble.The algicidal culture can not only lyse M. aeruginosa in liquid media, but aslo lyse M. aeruginosa lawns on soft agar plates and form plaques. The maximun dilution of the mixed culture required for rapid Microcystis lysis is 1/100, 000. 3 Influences of environmental factors such as pH, temperature, illumination, and the nitrogen source on the lytic activity of the mixed bacterial culture on Microcystis aeruginosa. In our investigations, it was shown that the lytic activity of the mixed bacterial culture on Microcystis aeruginosa was straightly correlated with pH, temperature, illumination, as well as the nitrogen source in the medium. The impacts of these environmental factors on the algicidal activity of the mixed bacterial culture, to a certain extent, may depend on both the algal and the bacterial growth rates under the tested environmental conditions. 4 The mechanisms of algal cell lysis by the algicidal bacteria Death was detected when the mixed bacterial culture was added to the algal culture, but not when only the culture filtrate or autoclaved bacterial culture was added. This indicates that the mixed bacterial culture did not release extracellular products inhibitory to Microcystis aeruginosa. In addition, under the microscope, we observed frequent contacts btween bacteria and algae cells, and some bacteria can even penetrate into target algal cells and destroyed them. These results may suggest that the bacterium kill the alga by direct contact. 5 Molecular Characterization of the algicidal bacterial culture Attempts for isolation of pure bacterium or bacteria from the enrichment culture responsible for Microcystis lysis have so far been failed. Based on PCR-DGGE (denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis) and 16S rDNA clone library analysis, Rubritepida sp., Pseudomonas sp. and Sphingomonas sp., as accompanying bacteria, were existed in M. aeruginosa. The bacterial community in M. aeruginosa showed significant change after adding the enrichment culture, where uncultured Flavorbacterium sp., Sphingomonas sp. and Hydrogenophaga sp. were observed, and the uncultured Flavorbacterium sp. became a dominant species. The obvious correlation can be seen between change of bacterial population and extinction of M. aeruginosa. Compared identification of pure bacterium with sequencing of DGGE bands and the clone distribution of the clone libraries, it was inferred that some uncultured bacteria were probably play an important role in controlling the growth and abundance of M. aeruginosa. This report is the first example of a mixed bacterial culture with the ability to lyse M. aeruginosa. 6 Further study for algae control by applications of algicidal bacteria (1) Algae lysis would be seen obviously 6 days later when the algae culture was killed and became yellow contrast to no-addition controls, and chlorophyll a (chl-a) was reducted to a low level 20 days later in the simulated water bloom experiments. (2) The growth of Microcystis sp. (zd) was restrained by Microcystis aeruginosa 905 (zc) when they were co-cultured together, and zc was lysed by the algicidal bacterial culture. This report is the first example of a mixed bacterial culture with the ability to lyse M. aeruginosa, and its algicidal activity remained high against non-axenic tested M. aeruginosa, suggesting that bacteria in the natural environment could play a role in controlling the growth and abundance of M. aeruginosa and other cyanobacteria. Such bacteria could also potentially be used as agents to prevent the mass development of cyanobacteria in eutrophic lakes and reservoirs.

Spatial variability in water quality and surface sediment diatom assemblages in a complex lake basin,lake of the woods,ontario,canada

Lake of the Woods (LOW) is an international waterbody spanning the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Manitoba, and the U.S. state of Minnesota. In recent years, there has been a perception that water quality has deteriorated in northern regions of the lake, with all increase in the frequency and intensity of toxin-producing cyanobacterial blooms. However, given the lack of long-term data these trends are difficult to verify. As a first step, we examine spatial and seasonal patterns in water quality in this highly complex lake on the Canadian Shield. Further, we examine surface sediment diatom assemblages across multiple sites to determine if they track within-take differences in environmental conditions. Our results show that there are significant spatial patterns in water quality in LOW. Principal Component Analysis divides the lake into three geographic zones based primarily on algal nutrients (i.e., total phosphorus, TP), with the highest concentrations at sites proximal to Rainy River. This variation is closely tracked by sedimentary diatom assemblages, with [TP] explaining 43% of the variation in diatom assemblages across sites. The close correlation between water quality and the surface sediment diatom record indicate that paleoecological models could be used to provide data on the relative importance of natural and anthropogenic sources of nutrients to the lake.

Identification of triosephosphate isomerase (TIM) genes from Microcystis (Cyanobacteria : Chroococcales) and theoretical analyses of the potential of cyanobacterial TIM as a target for designing specific inhibitors

The genes encoding triosephosphate isomerase (TIM) in three species of Microcystis (M. aeruginosa, M. viridis and M. wesenbergii) were investigated. Reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction indicated that they were transcribed in the cells. Analyses showed that their DNA and deduced amino acid sequences were highly conserved between all the three species, only a single nonsynonymous substitution was seen at position 31, from an Asp in M. aeruginosa and M. viridis to Glu in M. wesenbergii. Sequence alignment of these with 12 other known cyanobacterial TIM sequences showed that all the cyanobacterial TIMs had a very high level of amino acid identity (over 50% between each two). Comparison of the cyanobacterial TIMs with other reported TIMs (from diverse lineages of the three Domains) showed that they possessed common active-site residues and sequence motifs. All cyanobacterial TIMs have two common cysteine residues (Cys127 and Cys176), and the Cys176 is almost cyanobacteria-specific with only one exception in Streptomyces coelicolor. Both secondary structure alignment and comparative modelling of Synechocystis sp. TIM showed that Cys176 was located at the hinge region of the flexible loop-6 and might therefore be critical to the movement of TIM's loop-6, which is important to the function of the enzyme. Thus, the cyanobacterial TIM-specific Cys176 may be a potential site for the discovery of suitable drugs against cyanobacteria, and such drugs may have utility in controlling water blooms due to cyanobacteria.

Effects of temperature on the threshold of phosphorus for algal blooms

Algal blooms, worsening marine ecosystems and causing great economic loss, have been paid much attention to for a long time. Such environmental factors as light penetration, water temperature, and nutrient concentration are crucial in blooms processes. Among them, only nutrients can be controlled. Therefore, the threshold of nutrients for algal blooms is of great concern. To begin with, a dynamic eutrophication model has been constructed to simulate the algal growth and phosphorus cycling. The model encapsulates the essential biological processes of algal growth and decay, and phosphorus regeneration due to algal decay. The nutrient limitation is based upon commonly used Monod's kinetics. The effects of temperature and phosphorus limitation are particularly addressed. Then, we have endeavored to elucidate the threshold of phosphorus at different temperature for algal blooms. Based on the numerical simulation, the isoquant contours of change rate of alga as shown in the figure are obtained, which obviously demonstrate the threshold of nutrient at an arbitrary reasonable temperature. The larger the change rate is, the more rapidly the alga grows. If the phosphorus concentration at a given temperature remains larger than the threshold the algal biomass may increase monotonically, leading to the algal blooming. With the rising of temperature, the threshold is apparently reduced, which may explain why likely red tide disasters occur in a fine summer day. So, high temperature and sufficient phosphorus supply are the major factors which result in algal growth and blowout of red tide.

Influence of dew on biomass and photosystem II activity of cyanobacterial crusts in the Hopq Desert, northwest China

Dew is an important water source for desert organisms in semiarid and arid regions. Both field and laboratory experiments were conducted to investigate the possible roles of dew in growth of biomass and photosynthetic activity within cyanobacterial crust. The cyanobacteria, Microcoleus vaginatus Gom. and Scytonema javanicum (Kutz.) Born et Flah., were begun with stock cultures and sequential mass cultivations, and then the field experiment was performed by inoculating the inocula onto shifting sand for forming cyanobacterial crust during late summer and autumn of 2007 in Hopq Desert, northwest China. Measurements of dew amount and Chlorophyll a content were carried out in order to evaluate the changes in crust biomass following dew. Also, we determined the activity of photosystem II(PSII) within the crust in the laboratory by simulating the desiccation/rehydration process due to dew. Results showed that the average daily dew amount as measured by the cloth-plate method (CPM) was 0.154 mm during fifty-three days and that the crust biomass fluctuated from initial inoculation of 4.3 mu g Chlorophyll a cm(-2) sand to 5.8-7.3 mu g Chlorophyll a cm(-2) crust when dew acted as the sole water source, and reached a peak value of approximately 8.2 mu g Chlorophyll a cm(-2) crust owing to rainfalls. It indicated that there was a highly significant correlation between dew amounts and crust moistures (r = 0.897 or r = 0.882, all P < 0.0001), but not a significant correlation between dew and the biomass (r = 0.246 or r = 0.257, all P > 0.05), and thus concluded that dew might only play a relatively limited role in regulating the crust biomass. Correspondingly, we found that rains significantly facilitated biomass increase of the cyanobacterial crust. Results from the simulative experiment upon rehydration showed that approximately 80% of PSII activity could be achieved within about 50 min after rehydration in the dark and at 5 degrees C, and only about 20% of the activity was light-temperature dependent. This might mean that dew was crucial for cyanobacterial crust to rapidly activate photosynthetic activity during desiccation and rehydration despite low temperatures and weak light before dawn. It also showed in this study that the cyanobacterial crusts could receive and retain more dew than sand, which depended on microclimatic characteristics and soil properties of the crusts. It may be necessary for us to fully understanding the influence of dew on regulating the growth and activity of cyanobacterial crust, and to soundly evaluate the crust's potential application in fighting desertification because of the available water due to dew. (C) 2009 Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Rapid quantification of total microcystins in cyanobacterial samples by periodate-permanganate oxidation and reversed-phase liquid chromatography

Microcystins (MCs) comprise a family of more than 80 related cyclic hepatotoxic heptapeptides. Oxidation of MCs causes cleavage of the chemically unique C-20 beta-amino acid (2S, 3S, 8S, 9S)-3-amino-9-methoxy-2,6,8-trimethyl-10-phenyldeca-4,6-dienoic acid (Adda) amino to form 2-methyl-3-methoxy-4-phenylbutanoic acid (MMPB), which has been exploited to enable analysis of the entire family. In the present study, the reaction conditions (e.g. concentration of the reactants. temperature and pH) used in the production of MMPB by oxidation of cyanobacterial samples with permanganate-periodate were optimized through a series of well-controlled batch experiments. The oxidation product (MMPB) was then directly analyzed by high-performance liquid chromatography with diode array detection. The results of this study provided insight into the influence of reaction conditions on the yield of MMPB. Specifically, the optimal conditions, including a high dose of permanganate (>= 50 mM) in saturated periodate solution at ambient temperature under alkaline conditions (pH similar to 9) over 1-4 h were proposed, as indicated by a MMPB yield of greater than 85%. The technique developed here was applied to determine the total concentration of MCs in cyanobacterial bloom samples, and indicated that the MMPB technique was a highly sensitive and accurate method of quantifying total MCs. Additionally, these results will aid in development of a highly effective analytical method for detection of MMPB as an oxidation product for evaluation of total MCs in a wide range of environmental sample matrices, including natural waters, soils (sediments) and animal tissues. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Effects of cyanobacterial toxin microcystin-LR on the transcription levels of immune-related genes in grass carp Ctenopharyngodon idella

Recent studies in mammals have revealed that the cyanobacterial toxin MC-LR suppresses immune functions. Nevertheless, immunotoxic effects of microcystins have been little studied in fish. In this paper, we present the profiles of the immune modulation of MC-LR in grass carp, and quantitative real-time PCR methodology was developed for the measurement of relative transcription changes of six immune-related genes in the spleen and head kidney of the grass carp Ctenopharyngodon idella, which were intraperitoneally injected with 50 mu g MC-LR center dot kg(-1) body weight in a three-week period. This study was focused exclusively on gene transcription level changes at different time points after MC-LR exposure, so, only one dose was given. The investigated genes were interleukin-1 beta (IL-1 beta), tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha), type I interferon (Type I IFN), peptidoglycan recognition protein-L (PGRP-L), immunoglobulin M (IgM) and major histocompatibility complex class I (MHC-I) genes. The results demonstrated that the transcription levels of the TNF-alpha, type I IFN, and PGRP-L genes in the spleen and head kidney were significantly low at all time points, and those of IL-1 beta were significantly low in the head kidney at different time points. In addition, IgM and MHC-I transcription levels were only significantly low in the spleen and head kidney at 21 d postinjection. The changes in the transcription levels of immune-related genes induced by MC-LR confirmed its effect on inhibiting immune function at the transcription level.

Feasibility of cyanobacterial inoculation for biological soil crusts formation in desert area

Practical testing of the feasibility of cyanobacterial inoculation to speed up the recovery of biological soil crusts in the field was conducted in this experiment. Results showed that cyanobacterial and algal cover climbed up to 48.5% and a total of 14 cyanobacterial and algal species were identified at the termination of inoculation experiment; biological crusts' thickness, compressive and chlorophyll a content increased with inoculation time among 3 years; moss species appeared in the second year; cyanobacterial inoculation increased organic carbon and total nitrogen of the soil; total salt, calcium carbonate and electrical conductivity in the soil also increased after inoculation. Diverse vascular plant communities composed of 10 and 9 species are established by cyanobacterial inoculation on the windward and leeward surface of the dunes, respectively, after 3 years. The Simpson index for the above two communities are 0.842 and 0.852, while the Shannon-Weiner index are 2.097 and 2.053, respectively. In conclusion, we suggest that cyanobacterial inoculation would be a suitable and effective technique to recover biological soil crusts, and may further restore the ecological system. (C) 2008 Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Simultaneous determination of microcystin contaminations in various vertebrates (fish, turtle, duck and water bird) from a large eutrophic Chinese lake, Lake Taihu, with toxic Microcystis blooms

This is the first to conduct Simultaneous determination of microcystin (MC) contaminations in multi-groups of vertebrates (fish, turtle, duck and water bird) from Lake Taihu with Microcystis blooms. MCs (-RR, -YR, -LR) in Microcystis scum was 328 mu g g(-1) DW. MCs reached 235 mu g g(-1) DW in intestinal contents of phytoplanktivorous silver carp, but never exceeded 0.1 mu g g(-1) DW in intestinal contents of other animals. The highest MC content in liver of fish was in Carassius auratus (150 ng g(-1) DW), followed by silver carp and Culter ilishaeformis, whereas the lowest was in common carp (3 ng g(-1) DW). In livers of turtle, duck and water bird, MC content ranged from 18 to 30 ng g(-1) DW. High MC level was found in the gonad, egg yolk and egg white of Nycticorax nycticorax and Anas platyrhynchos, suggesting the potential effect of MCs on water bird and duck embryos. High MC contents were identified for the first time in the spleens of N. nycticorax and A. platyrhynchos (6.850 and 9.462 ng g(-1) DW, respectively), indicating a different organotropism of MCs in birds. Lakes with deaths of turtles or water birds in the literatures had a considerably higher MC content in both cyanobacteria and wildlife than Lake Taihu, indicating that toxicity of cyanobacteria may determine accumulation level of MCs and consequently fates of aquatic wildlife. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Effects of pure microcystin-LR on the transcription of immune related genes and heat shock proteins in larval stage of zebrafish (Danio rerio)

Microcystins (MCs) are cyanobacterial toxins in water blooms that have received increasing attention as a public biohazard for human and animal health. Previous studies were mainly focused on the toxic effects on adult fish, rather than juvenile or larvae, and the response of fish immune system were usually neglected. This paper presents the first data of the effects of microcystin-LR (MC-LR) on transcription of several genes essential for early lymphoid development (Rag1, Rag2, Ikaros, GATA1, Lck and TCR alpha) and heat shock proteins (HSP90, HSP70, HSP60, HSP27) in zebrafish larvae. Relative changes of mRNA transcription were analyzed by real time PCR. The transcription of Rag1, Rag2, Ikaros, GATA1, Lck and TCR alpha were up-regulated when following exposure to 800 mu g/L MC-LR, which may indicate that specific lymphocytes differentiation and TCR/lg arrangement are induced to counteract the toxic effects of MC-LR. It was also interesting to note the dramatically increased transcription of HSP90. HSP70, HSP60 and HSP27, which may indicate their important roles as molecular chaperones under oxidative stress. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.