Evaluation of antimicrobial agents for veterinary use in the ecotoxicity test using microalgae

The influence of antimicrobial agents approved as veterinary drugs in Japan on the growth of green algae, Selenastrum capricornutum and Chlorella vulgaris, was studied in accordance with the OECD guidelines for testing chemicals. Among the agents tested, growth inhibitory activity was very varied, i.e. erythromycin showed the strongest activity (EC₅₀, 50% effective concentration, =0.037 mg/l), sulfa drugs had activity to some extent (EC₅₀s of sulfamethoxazole, sulfadiazine, and sulfadimethoxine were 1.5, 2.2, and 2.3 mg/l, respectively), but ampicillin and cefazolin did not inhibit growth (EC₅₀s > 1000 mg/l). We also investigated synergistic effect of combining sulfa drugs with trimethoprim or pyrimethamine, which are commonly used as a combined drug. By adding trimethoprim, the growth inhibitory activity of sulfamethoxazole and sulfadiazine was significantly enhanced. Growth inhibition by sulfa drugs was reduced by the addition of folic acid, indicating that they inhibit folate synthesis in green algae.     

Sludge-grown algae for culturing aquatic organisms: Part I. Algal growth in sludge extracts

This project is aimed at studying the feasibility of using sewage sludge to prepare culture media for microalgae (Chlorella-HKBU) and the use of the sludge-grown algae as a feed for some aquatic organisms. Part I of the project included results on preparing sludge extracts and their use on algal culture. By comparing two culturing techniques, aeration and shaking, it was noted that both lag and log phases were shortened in the aeration system. A subsequent experiment noted that algal growth subject to aeration rates of 1.0 and 1.5 liters/min had similar lag and log phases. In addition, both aeration rates had a significantly higher (P < 0.05) final cell density than that of 0.5 liters/min. A detailed study on the variation of growth conditions on the algal growth was done. The results indicated that pH values of all the cultures declined below 5 at day 12. The removal rates of ammonia N ranged from 62% to 70%. The sludge-grown algae contained a rather substantial amount of heavy metals (µg/g): Zn 289–581, Cu 443–682, Ni 310–963, Mn 96–126, Cr 25–118, and Fe 438–653. This implied that the rather high levels of heavy metals may impose adverse effects on higher trophic organisms.     

麻痹性贝毒的表面等离子体共振快速检测方法研究

采用表面等离子体共振(SPR)技术研究了赤潮毒素麻痹性贝毒(PSP)的快速检测方法,分别采取固定化PSP抗体分子和PSP分子的方法,进行直接和间接检测溶液中PSP的含量,检测下限分别为70.2μg.L-1(~235 nmol.L-1)和0.5μg.L-1(~1.67 nmol.L-1),相对标准偏差(RSD)为4.2%~7.7%,回收率为101%~105%。检测方法的选择性好,样品、标准物和抗体的用量少,检测成本低,单个样品的测试时间不到10 min,能够满足赤潮毒素的快速检测需求。     

The chelation of metal ions by the acylpolyamine toxins from the web-spider Nephilengys cruentata: effects in the intoxication/detoxification of preys

Summary. Orb-web-spiders present a series of different strategies for prey capture, involving the use of different types of silk for web building, the use of adhesive traps in the webs, the secretion of toxic compounds to the spider’s preys in the adhesive coating of the capture web and the biosynthesis of a wide range of structurally related acylpolyamine toxins in their venoms. The polyamine toxins usually block neuromuscular junctions and/or the central nervous system (CNS) of Arthropods, targeting specially the ionotropic glutamate receptors; this way these toxins are used are as chemical weapons to kill / paralyze the spider’s prey. Polyamine toxins contain many azamethylene groups involved with the chelation of metal ions, which in turn can interact with the glutamate receptors, affecting the toxicity of these toxins. It was demonstrated that the chelation of Ni⁺², Fe⁺², Pb⁺², Ca⁺² and Mg⁺² ions by the desalted crude venom of Nephilengys cruentata and by the synthetic toxin JSTX-3, did not cause any significant change in the toxicity of the acylpolyamine toxins to the model-prey insect (honeybees). However, it was also reported that the chelation of Zn⁺² ions by the acylpolyamines potentiated the lethal / paralytic action of these toxins to the honeybees, while the chelation of Cu⁺² ions caused the inverse effect. Atomic absorption spectrometry and Plasma-ICP analysis both of N. cruentata venom and honeybee’s hemolymph revealed that the spider’s venom concentrates Zn⁺² ions, while the honeybee’s hemolymph concentrates Cu⁺² ions. These results are suggesting that the natural accumulation of Zn⁺² ions in N. cruentata venom favors the prey catching and/or its maintenance in the web, while the natural accumulation of Cu⁺² ions in prey’s hemolymph minimizes the efficiency of the acylpolyamine toxins as killing/paralyzing tool.     

The impact of preozonation on the coagulation of cellular organic matter produced by Microcystis aeruginosa and its toxin degradation

Ozonation pretreatment is typically implemented to improve algal cell coagulation. However, knowledge on the effect of ozonation on the characteristics and coagulation of associated algal organic matter, particularly cellular organic matter (COM), which is extensively released during algal bloom decay, is limited. Hence, this study aimed to elucidate the impact of ozonation applied before the coagulation of dissolved COM from the cyanobacteria Microcystis aeruginosa. Additionally, the degradation of microcystins (MCs) naturally present in the COM matrix was investigated. A range of ozone doses (0.1–1.0 mg O₃/mg of dissolved organic carbon – DOC) and ozonation pH values (pH 5, 7 and 9) were tested, while aluminium and ferric sulphate coagulants were used for subsequent coagulation. Despite negligible COM removal, ozonation itself eliminated MCs, and a lower ozone dose was required when performing ozonation at acidic or neutral pH (0.4 mg O₃/mg DOC at pH 5 and 7 compared to 0.8 mg O₃/mg DOC at pH 9). Enhanced MC degradation and a similar pattern of pH dependence were observed after preozonation-coagulation, whereas coagulation alone did not sufficiently remove MCs. In contrast to the benefits of MC depletion, preozonation using ≥ 0.4 mg O₃/mg DOC decreased the coagulation efficiency (from 42%/48% to 28%–38%/41%–44% using Al/Fe-based coagulants), which was more severe with increasing ozone dosage. Coagulation was also influenced by the preozonation pH, where pH 9 caused the lowest reduction in COM removal. The results indicate that ozonation efficiently removes MCs, but its employment before COM coagulation is disputable due to the deterioration of coagulation.     

中国南部沿海近岸西加鱼毒素研究

为了查清我国南部沿海珊瑚礁鱼类体内的西加鱼毒素状况,首次在海南三亚、琼海、广西涠洲岛、珠海担杆列岛、广东徐闻县灯楼角和福建东山岛收集渔民从附近珊瑚礁海域捕捞的野生鱼类,采用酶联免疫法、小白鼠生物法和高效液相色谱质谱联用法进行毒素测定.结果表明,6个调查海区均检测出染毒鱼类,总阳性检出率达50%,其中福建东山岛(77.8%) >广东徐闻县灯楼角(66.7%) >广东珠海担杆列岛(55.6%) >广西涠洲岛(37.5%) >海南三亚(37.5%) >海南琼海(16.7%),与海域环境质量可能存在一定的关联.鱼组织毒素含量为0~169ng P-CTX-1/kg肉,8个样品 (占总样17.4%) 超过100ng P-CTX-1/kg肉,达到可致人中毒水平.染毒鱼种类繁多,主要包括蝴蝶鱼科(Chaetodontidae)、鹦嘴鱼科(Scaridae)、鳂科(Holocentridae)、笛鲷科(Lutjanidae)和鮨科(Serranidae).酶联免疫法与小鼠生物法对鱼毒定性检测结果基本一致,但仅在福建东山岛2个鱼样中检测到P-CTX-1成分.染毒鱼类的毒素含量和鱼体重/体长没有相关性,也与其食性无关.     

Performance and microbial community analysis of an algal-activated sludge symbiotic system: Effect of activated sludge concentration

It was focused on the effect of different sludge concentrations on the performances of an algal-activated sludge symbiotic system in terms of wastewater treatment, algal-activated sludge characteristics and community structure. The results showed that the highest nutrient removal efficiencies were obtained in the reactor R~2 with soluble chemical oxygen demand(sC OD), ammonia nitrogen(NH_4~+-N) and phosphate(PO_4~(3-)-P) removal efficiencies of(90.6 ± 2.3)%,(97.69 ± 2.6)% and(83.81 ± 2.3)%, respectively. Further investigation exhibited that sludge concentration has a great effect on the dissolved oxygen(DO) concentration, the pH, the growth of algae and the extracellular polymeric substance(EPS) production, which resulted in influencing the settleability and the performance of symbiotic system. The denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis(DGGE) analysis demonstrated that the sludge concentration had a selective power for particular members of algae. Meantime, the stimulated algal population would selectively excite the members of bacteria benefited for the formation of algal-bacterial consortia.The variation of microbial compositions, which was influenced by the different sludge concentrations, might be ultimately responsible for the different treatment performances.     

Cyanobacterial bloom dynamics in Lake Taihu

<正>Lake Taihu is the third largest freshwater lake in China and serves as an important drinking water source for the local populace;however,decades of excessive nutrient loading fueled by anthropogenic activities have resulted in hypertrophic conditions,promoting the annual formation of nuisance phytoplankton blooms(Chen et al.,2003;Duan et al.,2009)     

生物监测中叶绿素a浓度与藻类密度的关联性研究

通过测定叶绿素a浓度、藻类密度和藻类分类计数等,获取"水华"水体生物监测数据。统计分析结果表明,叶绿素a浓度和藻类密度在蓝藻"水华"(微囊藻为优势种)暴发期间存在显著相关,并拟合出了回归直线。且叶绿素a浓度和藻类密度的自然对数比值也与藻类发生和兴衰存在着规律性联系。