A strain of Raphidiopsis (Cyanobacteria) isolated from a fish pond in Wuhan, P. R. China was examined for its taxonomy and production of the alkaloidal hepatotoxins cylindrospermopsin (CYN) and deoxy‐cylindrospermopsin (deoxy‐CYN). Strain HB1 was identified as R. curvata Fritsch et Rich based on morphological examination of the laboratory culture. HB1 produced mainly deoxy‐CYN at a concentration of 1.3 mg·g−1 (dry wt cells) by HPLC and HPLC‐MS/MS. CYN was also detected in trace amounts (0.56 μg·g−1). A mouse bioassay did not show lethal toxicity when tested at doses up to 1500 mg dry weight cells·kg−1 body weight within 96 h, demonstrating that production of primarily deoxy‐CYN does not lead to significant mouse toxicity by strain HB1. The presence of deoxy‐CYN and CYN in R. curvata suggests that Raphidiopsis belongs to the Nostocaceae, but this requires confirmation by molecular systematic studies. Production of these cyanotoxins by Raphidiopsis adds another genus, in addition to Cylindrospermopsis, Aphanizomenon, and Umezakia, now known to produce this group of hepatotoxic cyanotoxins. This is also the first report from China of a CYN and deoxy‐CYN producing cyanobacterium.

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The sorption of microcystins (MCs) to fifteen lake sediments and four clay minerals was studied as a function of sediment/clay properties, temperature, and pH through well−controlled batch sorption experiments. All sorption data for both sediments and clays are well described by a nonlinear Freundlich model (n f varies between 0.49 and 1.03). The sorption process for MCs exhibited different adsorptive mechanisms in different lake sediments mainly dependent on the sediment organic matter (OM). For sediments with lower OM (i.e., less than 8%), the sorption of MCs decreases with increasing OM and is dominated by the competition for adsorption sites between MCs and OM. In contrast, MC sorption to organic-rich (i.e., more than 8%) sediments increases with increasing OM and is dominated by the interaction between MCs and adsorbed OM. The sorption thermodynamics of MCs onto sediments showed that MC sorption is a spontaneous physisorption process with two different mechanisms. One mechanism is an exothermic process for sediment with lower OM, and the other is an endothermic process for sediment with higher OM. Furthermore, the sorption of MCs onto sediments is pH dependent (sorption decreased with increasing pH). These results provide valuable informations for a better understanding of the natural abiotic attenuation mechanisms for MCs in aquatic ecosystems.

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