Influence of toxic cyanobacteria on community structure and microcystin accumulation of freshwater molluscs

Community structure and microcystin accumulation of freshwater molluscs were studied before and after cyanobacterial proliferations, in order to assess the impact of toxic blooms on molluscs and the risk of microcystin transfer in food web. Observed decrease in mollusc abundance and changes in species richness in highly contaminated waters were not significant; however, relative abundances of taxa (prosobranchs, pulmonates, bivalves) were significantly different before and after cyanobacterial bloom. Pulmonates constituted the dominant taxon, and bivalves never occurred after bloom. Microcystin accumulation was significantly higher in molluscs from highly (versus lowly) contaminated waters, in adults (versus juveniles) and in pulmonates (versus prosobranchs and bivalves). Results are discussed according to the ecology of molluscs, their sensitivity and their ability to detoxify.     

Electrochemical inactivation of cyanobacteria and microcystin degradation using a boron-doped diamond anode——A potential tool for cyanobacterial bloom control

Cyanobacterial blooms are global phenomena that can occur in calm and nutrient-rich(eutrophic) fresh and marine waters. Human exposure to cyanobacteria and their biologically active products is possible during water sports and various water activities, or by ingestion of contaminated water. Although the vast majority of harmful cyanobacterial products are confined to the interior of the cells, these are eventually released into the surrounding water following natural or artificially induced cell death. Electrochemical oxidation has been used here to damage cyanobacteria to halt their proliferation, and for microcystin degradation under in-vitro conditions. Partially spent Jaworski growth medium with no addition of supporting electrolytes was used. Electrochemical treatment resulted in the cyanobacterial loss of cell-buoyancy regulation, cell proliferation arrest, and eventual cell death. Microcystin degradation was studied separately in two basic modes of treatment: batch-wise flow, and constant flow, for electrolytic-cell exposure. Batch-wise exposure simulates treatment under environmental conditions, while constant flow is more appropriate for the study of boron-doped diamond electrode efficacy under laboratory conditions. The effectiveness of microcystin degradation was established using high-performance liquid chromatography–photodiode array detector analysis, while the biological activities of the products were estimated using a colorimetric protein phosphatase-1 inhibition assay. The results indicate potential for the application of electro-oxidation methods for the control of bloom events by taking advantage of specific intrinsic ecological characteristics of bloom-forming cyanobacteria. The applicability of the use of boron-doped diamond electrodes in remediation of water exposed to cyanobacteria bloom events is discussed.     

Infant health impacts of freshwater algal blooms: Evidence from an invasive species natural experiment

Economists are increasingly interested in causally interpretable estimates of environmental health externalities, particularly on infant health. This paper focuses on a specific case by investigating microcystin, a toxin produced by freshwater blue-green algal blooms. We exploit a natural experiment caused by a zebra mussel die-off in a large lake located in the state of Michigan, USA to identify changes in microcystin-related infant outcomes surrounding the lake. Using both the synthetic control method and a difference-in-differences strategy, we find that instances of low birth weight around the lake fell by 1.4 percentage points after lake water quality improved. Along the intensive margin, birth weight and length of gestation increased by 17.1 g and 0.47 weeks, respectively. Improvements to low birth weight result in $768,500 in average annual hospitalization cost savings. Many robustness and falsification tests are performed including using both annual and monthly data and accounting for possible weather confounders and seasonality. Results suggest that microcystin can affect infant health at levels below current water advisory guidelines.     

农作物对微囊藻毒素耐受性差异的研究进展

微囊藻毒素进入农田后会对农产品安全产生潜在的危胁,并可能通过食物链危害人类健康。已有的众多研究结果表明,不同农作物对微囊藻毒素的耐受性存在较大差异,而这一差异为农业生产上合理规避微囊藻毒素污染风险提供了一种可能。本文就农作物对微囊藻毒素耐受性差异这一问题进行了综述,并在此基础上提出了今后的研究方向。     

Effects of elevated CO2 on dynamics of microcystin-producing and non-microcystin-producing strains during Microcystis blooms

In an attempt to elucidate the effects of different CO₂ concentrations (270, 380, and 750 μL/L) on the competition of microcystin-producing (MC-producing) and non-MC-producing Microcystis strains during dense cyanobacteria blooms, an in situ simulation experimentwas conducted in the Meiliang Bay of Lake Taihu in the summer of 2012. The abundance of total Microcystis and MC-producing Microcystis genotypes was quantified based on the 16S rDNA and mcyD gene using real-time PCR. The results showed that atmospheric CO₂ elevation would significantly decrease the pH value and increase the dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) concentration. Changes in CO₂ concentration did not show significant influence on the abundance of total Microcystis population. However, CO₂ concentrations may be an important factor in determining the subpopulation structure of Microcystis. The enhancement of CO₂ concentrations could largely increase the competitive ability of non-MC-producing over MC-producing Microcystis, resulting in a higher proportion of non-MC-producing subpopulation in treatments using high CO₂ concentrations. Concurrently, MC concentration in water declined when CO₂ concentrations were elevated. Therefore, we concluded that the increase of CO₂ concentrations might decrease potential health risks of MC for human and animals in the future.     

太湖水中微囊藻毒素的测定及其分布特征

为了调查太湖水体中微囊藻毒素的污染程度,运用固相萃取-高效液相色谱技术测定了微囊藻毒素(MC-RR,MC-LR)的含量水平。该方法线性范围0.2～5 mg/L,相关系数大于0.99,2种藻毒素的最低检测限分别为0.05μg/L(MC-RR)和0.048μg/L(MC-LR)。结果表明,夏季太湖水体中MCs总体含量高于冬季;微囊藻毒素MC-LR的含量大于MC-RR。总体上看来,太湖北部(梅梁湾)水域中藻毒素的污染比其它区域水体严重。     

聚吡咯修饰电极测定微囊藻毒素

以微囊藻毒素(MC-LR)为模板,采用循环伏安法在金电极的表面电聚合成聚吡咯膜,制备了MC-LR分子印迹电极。在优化制备条件的基础上,对该传感器的线性范围、使用寿命、选择性等进行了研究。结果表明该传感器对MC-LR具有良好的选择性和灵敏度,在0.05⁰.30μg/mL浓度范围内呈良好的线性关系,其相对误差为3.2%,加标回收率为91.0%0.30μg/mL浓度范围内呈良好的线性关系,其相对误差为3.2%,加标回收率为91.0%¹03%,检出限为0.009 4μg/mL。     

氮、磷、铁、锌对铜绿微囊藻生长及产毒的影响

为探讨氮、磷、铁、锌对铜绿微囊藻生长及产毒的影响，以HGZ为基础培养基，调整氮、磷、铁、锌的浓度，于无菌条件下对两种藻株进行培养，定期取培养液进行细胞计数及用ELISA方法测定微囊藻毒素的含量。结果表明，浓度的改变没有引起无毒株产生毒素，也没有改变产毒株的产毒特性。高浓度的氮(1.6～245.1mg/L)有利于两藻株的生长及产毒株的毒素合成，而对磷、铁、锌的需求量较低。当磷的浓度低于1.4mg/L时，无毒株随其浓度增加而生长加快，但浓度超过此范围，则变化不大。产毒株的生长和产毒对磷盐的浓度变化不敏感，过高浓度的磷(62.1mg/L)可抑制其生长。两藻株的生长对铁、锌浓度的变化也不敏感，但产毒株的毒素合成却随铁离子浓度升高而缓慢上升。在氮、磷、锌3个单因素研究中，培养液中藻细胞的数量与总毒素含量均呈正相关(P＜0.05)，而铁未呈相关关系。     

微囊藻毒素毒理学研究综述

微囊藻毒素常见于富营养化的水体中，结构是单环多肽链，其中均含有特殊的必要需活性氨基酸基团。ＭＣＹＳＴ的化学性质稳定，但可被生物降解和ＵＶ光解。利福平等化学保护剂可预防其毒作用。该文就ＭＣＹＳＴ的理化性质，暴露剂量，毒作用及机理，预防等各方面的研究，作一综述。     

韶关市3座供水水库蓝藻种群及微囊藻毒素的季节变化

为了解供水水库的蓝藻种群和微囊藻毒素的季节变化,于2012年1—12月对韶关的苍村、瀑布和花山3座供水水库进行了采样分析。结果表明,3座水库为中营养型水库,监测蓝藻共9属(种),优势种为鱼腥藻和微囊藻,蓝藻最高丰度为5.67×107L-1;降水导致营养盐物质带入水库和水体不稳定性是蓝藻种群和优势种在夏秋两季季节变化和占优势的主要影响因子。3座水库ρ(微囊藻毒素)为0.1~0.9μg/L,最高值接近世界卫生组织对饮用水中MC-LR的指导性限制值(1μg/L)标准。微囊藻与微囊藻毒素呈显著正相关性(R=0.871,P0.01),表明产微囊藻毒素的蓝藻主要为微囊藻,当水库发生微囊藻水华时有发生微囊藻毒素的风险。