1. Distribution of toxigenic cyanobacteria in Alpine lakes and rivers as revealed by molecular screeningMaša Jablonska, Leonardo Cerasino, Adriano Boscaini, Camilla Capelli, Claudia Greco, Aleksandra Krivograd-Klemenčič, Ute Mischke, Nico Salmaso, Rainer Kurmayer, 2024, original scientific article Abstract: The increasing frequency of cyanobacteria blooms in waterbodies caused by ecosystem eutrophication could endanger human health. This risk can be mitigated by effective monitoring incorporating molecular methods. To date, most molecular studies on toxigenic cyanobacteria have been limited to microcystins (MCs), disregarding other cyanotoxins, to freshwater planktic habitats while ignoring benthic habitats, and to limited geographic areas (usually one or a few specific waterbodies). In this study, we used PCR-based methods including PCR product sequencing and chemical-analytical methods (LC-MS/MS) to screen many plankton (n = 123) and biofilm samples (n = 113) originating from 29 Alpine lakes and 18 rivers for their cyanotoxin production potential. Both mcyE (indicating MC synthesis) and anaC (indicating anatoxin (ATX) synthesis) gene fragments were able to qualitatively predict MC or ATX occurrence. The abundance of mcyE gene fragments was significantly related to MC concentrations in plankton samples (R2 = 0.61). mcyE gene fragments indicative of MC synthesis were most abundant in planktic samples (65 %) and were assigned to the genera Planktothrix and Microcystis. However, mcyE rarely occurred in biofilms of lakes and rivers, i.e., 4 % and 5 %, respectively, and were assigned to Microcystis, Planktothrix, and Nostoc. In contrast, anaC gene fragments occurred frequently in planktic samples (14 % assigned to Tychonema, Phormidium (Microcoleus), and Oscillatoria), but also in biofilms of lakes (49 %) and rivers (18 %) and were assigned to the genera Phormidium, Oscillatoria, and Nostocales. The cyrJ gene fragment indicating cylindrospermopsin synthesis occurred only once in plankton (assigned to Dolichospermum), while saxitoxin synthesis potential was not detected. For plankton samples, monomictic and less eutrophic conditions were positively related to mcyE/MC occurrence frequency, while oligomictic conditions were related to anaC/ATX frequency. The anaC/ATX frequency in biofilm was related to the lake habitats generally showing higher biodiversity as revealed from metabarcoding in a parallel study.
Keywords: cyanotoxins, planktic and benthic habitats, water quality monitoring, early warning, toxigenic cyanobacteria, European Alps
Published in DiRROS: 03.06.2024; Views: 96; Downloads: 47
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2. Subchronic exposure of rats to sublethal dose of microcystin-YR induces DNA damage in multiple organsMetka Filipič, Bojana Žegura, Bojan Sedmak, Irena Horvat-Žnidaršič, Aleksandra Milutinović Živin, Dušan Šuput, 2007, original scientific article Abstract: Background. Microcystins (MCs) are cyclic heptapeptides that are considered tobe liver specific toxins. They are potent tumour promoters and recent studies indicate that they are also genotoxic. In this study we measured DNA damage in lymphocytes, liver, kidney (cortex and medulla), lung, spleen and brain cells of male Fisher F344 rats that were exposed to sublethal dose (every second day 10 Ugžkg b.w.č i.p) of microeysrin-YR (MCYR) for one month. Methods. At the end of exposure the animals were sacrificed, the lymphocytes were isolated from blood taken from jugular vein, liver cells were obtained byperfusion with collagenase A and the cells from other organs were isolated by incubating small tissue pieces with eollagenase A. The DNA damage in isolated cells was measured with the single cells gel electrophoresis (SCGE) also called the comet assay. Results. A significant increase of the % tail DNAin MCYR-exposed animals compared to the nonexposed control ones was observed in brain (2.5 fold), liver (2.1 fold), kidney medulla (1.9 fold), kidney cortex (1.8 fold) and lung (1.7 fold) cells, while the DNA from lymphocytes and spleen cells was not affected. Conclusion. This study demonstrated that subehronic exposure to sublethal doses of MCs can induce systemicgenotoxicity in mammals, and it affects not only the liver but also other vital organs.
Keywords: DNA damage, comet assay, cyanobacteria, bacterial toxins, rats, inbred F344
Published in DiRROS: 20.02.2024; Views: 220; Downloads: 54
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