Abstract

During the monitoring of toxic cyanobacteria in the Utinga Reservoir, which is the main drinking water supply for the city of Belém, PA, Brazil, a Radiocystis fernandoi strain (SPC714) was isolated. This non-axenic strain was submitted to a toxicity bioassay with mice and microcystin production analyzed by HPLC-DAD. The species was identified based on cultured and natural preserved material. Morphometric, developmental and reproductive characteristics were analyzed. The strain was cultured in liquid ASM-1 medium, at 25+/-1 degrees C, at an incident irradiance of 20 micromol photon m(-2)s(-1) and constant aeration. At the end of the exponential growth phase, cells were lyophilized and submitted to toxicity tests. The strain showed high toxicity to mice, by intraperitoneal route, with an approximate LD100 of 60 mg kg(-1) of body weight, producing characteristic symptoms of hepatotoxicity. Analyses performed by HPLC-DAD confirmed the production of microcystins, in a concentration of 3.83 microg mg(-1) of lyophilized cells. This is the first reference related to the toxicity of the genus Radiocystis.

Links

Publisher Full Text

Authors

dos S Vieira JM, de P Azevedo MT, de Oliveira Azevedo SM, Honda RY, Corrêa B

Institution

Departamento de Farmácia, Centro de Ciências da Saúde, Universidade Federal do Pará, 66075-110 Belém, PA, Brazil.

Source

Toxicon : official journal of the International Society on Toxinology 42:7 2003 Dec pg 709-13

MeSH

Bacterial Toxins
Brazil
Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid
Cyanobacteria
Humans
Microcystins
Peptides, Cyclic
Water Microbiology
Water Supply

Pub Type(s)

Journal Article
Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

Language

eng

PubMed ID

14757200