Cerium dioxide nanoparticles (CeO2 NPs) are increasingly being used as a catalyst in the automotive industry. Consequently, increasing amounts of CeO2 NPs are expected to enter the environment where their fate in and potential impacts are unknown. In this paper we describe the fate and effects of CeO2 NPs of three different sizes (14, 20, and 29 nm) in aquatic toxicity tests. In each standard test medium (pH 7.4) the CeO2 nanoparticles aggregated (mean aggregate size approximately 400 nm). Four test organisms covering three different trophic levels were investigated, i.e., the unicellular green alga Pseudokirchneriella subcapitata, two crustaceans: Daphnia magna and Thamnocephalus platyurus, and embryos of Danio rerio. No acute toxicity was observed for the two crustaceans and D. rerio embryos, up to test concentrations of 1000, 5000, and 200 mg/L, respectively. In contrast, significant chronic toxicity to P. subcapitata with 10% effect concentrations (EC10s) between 2.6 and 5.4 mg/L was observed. Food shortage resulted in chronic toxicity to D. magna, for wich EC10s of > or = 8.8 and < or = 20.0 mg/L were established. Chronic toxicity was found to increase with decreasing nominal particle diameter and the difference in toxicity could be explained by the difference in surface area. Using the data set, PNEC(aquatic)S > or = 0.052 and < or = 0.108 mg/L were derived. Further experiments were performed to explain the observed toxicity to the most sensitive organism, i.e., P. subcapitata. Toxicity could not be related to a direct effect of dissolved Ce or CeO2 NP uptake or adsorption, nor to an indirect effect of nutrient depletion (by sorption to NPs) or physical light restriction (through shading by the NPs). However, observed clustering of NPs around algal cells may locally cause a direct or indirect effect.

We studied the frequency and composition of potential microcystin (MC) producers in 70 Finnish lakes with general and genus-specific microcystin synthetase gene E (mcyE) PCR. Potential MC-producing Microcystis, Planktothrix and Anabaena spp. existed in 70%, 63%, and 37% of the lake samples, respectively. Approximately two-thirds of the lake samples contained one or two potential MC producers, while all three genera existed in 24% of the samples. In oligotrophic lakes, the occurrence of only one MC producer was most common. The combination of Microcystis and Planktothrix was slightly more prevalent than others in mesotrophic lakes, and the cooccurrence of all three MC producers was most widespread in both eutrophic and hypertrophic lakes. The proportion of the three-producer lakes increased with the trophic status of the lakes. In correlation analysis, the presence of multiple MC-producing genera was associated with higher cyanobacterial and phytoplankton biomass, pH, chlorophyll a, total nitrogen, and MC concentrations. Total nitrogen, pH, and the surface area of the lake predicted the occurrence probability of mcyE genes, whereas total phosphorus alone accounted for MC concentrations in the samples by logistic and linear regression analyses. In conclusion, the results suggested that eutrophication increased the cooccurrence of potentially MC-producing cyanobacterial genera, raising the risk of toxic-bloom formation.Cyanobacterial mass occurrences are a frequent phenomenon worldwide. A survey of the blooms in freshwaters has shown that on average, 59% contain toxins, with hepatotoxic blooms being more common than neurotoxic blooms (45). Toxic blooms expose water users to health risks and prevent the recreational use of water (19).Microcystins (MCs) are the most prevalent cyanobacterial hepatotoxins in freshwaters, where they are produced mainly by strains of the genera Anabaena, Microcystis, Planktothrix, and occasionally Nostoc (45). The toxicity of MCs is due to the inhibition of eukaryotic protein phosphatases 1 and 2A (11,25) in liver cells, where MCs enter via the bile acid transport system (1). MCs are cyclic heptapeptides with a general structure of cyclo(-D-Ala-X-D-erythro-␤-methylaspartic acid-ZAdda-D-Glu-N-methyldehydroalanine), where X and Z are various L-amino acids and Adda is 3-amino-9-methoxy-2,6,8-trimethyl-10-phenyldeca-4,6-dienoic acid. D-Glu and Adda form the part of the molecule that interacts with the protein phosphatases and thus are the crucial amino acids for the toxicity of MCs (8).MCs are produced by nonribosomal enzyme complexes. Adda is synthesized and integrated into the MC molecule by the enzymes McyG, McyD, and McyE. McyE also incorporates D-Glu, the other crucial amino acid for toxicity. Microcystin synthetase (mcy) gene clusters that encode these biosynthetic enzymes have now been characterized from all the main MCproducing genera (2,30,43,48). The presence of biosynthetic genes has also been proven a prerequisite for MC production (5). Although intensively studied, only a few st...

Insight into how environmental change determines the production and distribution of cyanobacterial toxins is necessary for risk assessment. Management guidelines currently focus on hepatotoxins (microcystins). Increasing attention is given to other classes, such as neurotoxins (e.g., anatoxin-a) and cytotoxins (e.g., cylindrospermopsin) due to their potency. Most studies examine the relationship between individual toxin variants and environmental factors, such as nutrients, temperature and light. In summer 2015, we collected samples across Europe to investigate the effect of nutrient and temperature gradients on the variability of toxin production at a continental scale. Direct and indirect effects of temperature were the main drivers of the spatial distribution in the toxins produced by the cyanobacterial community, the toxin concentrations and toxin quota. Generalized linear models showed that a Toxin Diversity Index (TDI) increased with latitude, while it decreased with water stability. Increases in TDI were explained through a significant increase in toxin variants such as MC-YR, anatoxin and cylindrospermopsin, accompanied by a decreasing presence of MC-LR. While global warming continues, the direct and indirect effects of increased lake temperatures will drive changes in the distribution of cyanobacterial toxins in Europe, potentially promoting selection of a few highly toxic species or strains.

Biological invasions have attracted particular attention since they often result in serious consequences for natural ecosystems. One planktonic invasive species is Cylindrospermopsis raciborskii, a cyanobacterium originally reported to occur exclusively in the tropics. Over the last few decades its range has extended to temperate regions and it occupies shallow highly eutrophic lakes previously dominated by other cyanobacteria. The purpose of this study was to examine the ecology of C. raciborskii during Planktothrix agardhii blooms in two shallow lakes in western Poland and to determine whether these species have different environmental preferences. Multiple linear regression showed that the biomass of P. agardhii was significantly negatively related to Secchi depth in Lake Bnin´skie. In Lake Bytyn´skie, P. agardhii was significantly positively related to concentrations of PO 3À 4 , chlorophyll a and total phosphorus and negatively related to Secchi depth, NO À 3 , and total nitrogen. Cylindrospermopsis raciborskii was significantly positively related only to concentrations of NH þ 4 . There was a negative correlation between the biomass of P. agardhii and C. raciborskii perhaps showing different responses to environmental variables. Moreover, the biomass of P. agardhii was negatively correlated with Shannon-Wiener diversity of the phytoplankton assemblages. Our results support the concept that these cyanobacterial species have different environmental preferences and their niches differ from each other. These results suggest that light is an important driver of phytoplankton community structure resulting in shifts from a community dominated by P. agardhii in very turbid waters to more diverse communities perhaps including the invasive C. raciborskii in clearer waters.