First report on the occurrence of microcystins in planktonic cyanobacteria from Central Mexico

Isolation and preliminary characterization of cyanobacteria strains from freshwaters of Greece

“…ELISA detection of microcystins was in accordance with PCR amplification of the mcy regions, especially the mcyA gene region. This is in accordance with Vasconcelos et al [26] that detected MCs using ELISA only in samples where the mcyA gene region was amplified. However, Gkelis & Zaoutsos [5] recently reported that in environmental samples the mcyA region was amplified only where Microcystis formed blooms and where MC concentrations where >40 μg L -1 , indicating that mcyA gene region is not always amplified or is amplified when Microcystis reaches high biovolumes.…”

“…DNA extracted from Microcystis aeruginosa M6 strain was used as positive control for the amplification of mcyA, mcyB and mcyE gene targets; DNA from Cylindrospermopsis raciborskii Aqs strain was used as positive control for the amplification of the ps (peptide syntethase) and pks (polyketide synthase) genetic determinants; DNA from Aphanizomenon gracile A040 strain was used as positive control for the detection of sxtI target gene (see [26]). All positive controls we used produced an amplification product under the tested conditions.…”

Tropical cyanobacterial blooms: a review of prevalence, problem taxa, toxins and influencing environmental factors

“…Another species, Pseudanabaena mucicola, was also recorded in water bodies in Mexico and Brazil and Pseudanabaena sp. was recorded in Bangladesh (Welker et al, 2004;Frias et al, 2006;Vasconcelos et al, 2010). Toxin testing was carried out on water bodies in all three countries containing P. mucicola and Pseudanabaena sp., but the microcystin level could not be attributed to either species due to the presence of Microcystis It is important to note that Pseudanabaena is similar in morphology to Cylindrospermopsis, thus, records of Pseudanabaena in Mexico, Brazil and Bangladesh (Welker et al, 2004;Frias et al, 2006;Vasconcelos et al, 2010), which did not include pictures and formal descriptions of Pseudanabaena species could not be verified, and might potentially be misidentifications.…”

“…Since that incident some studies have been carried out on several reservoirs in South and Central America documenting blooms and progenitor species (Díaz-Pardo et al, 1998;Lind and Davalos-Lind, 2002;Ramirez et al, 2002;Bittencourt-Oliveira et al, 2005;Frias et al, 2006;Merino-Ibarra et al, 2007;Berry and Lind, 2010;Vasconcelos et al, 2010;Rejmánková et al, 2011). A review by Dorr et al (2010) revealed that there has been increased cyanobacterial bloom occurrence in water bodies in South America requiring better methods for screening and testing of cyanobacterial toxins.…”

Cianofitas de los sistemas fluvio-lagunares Pom-Atasta y Palizada del Este, adyacentes a la Laguna de Términos, Campeche, México

“…A nivel mundial se han mencionado numerosos casos de mortandad de ganado, aves y animales silvestres, por el efecto directo de las cianotoxinas contenidas en las cianofitas, ingeridas por estos animales (Carmichael y Falconer, 1993;Skulberg et al, 1993;Quesada-Corral, et al, 2006). En México, se han reportado muchos eventos de florecimientos de cianofitas en varios estados de la república mexicana, como: Baja California Sur, Jalisco, Michoacán, Veracruz, San Luis Potosí, Sinaloa, Queré-taro, Guanajuato, Puebla, Oaxaca, Hidalgo y en el Estado de México (Cortés-Altamirano y Licea-Durán, 1999;Ramírez-García et al, 2004;Oliva-Martínez et al, 2008;Arzate-Cárdenas et al, 2010;Vasconcelos et al, 2010;Sánchez-Chávez et al, 2011;Berry et al, 2011;Gárate-Lizárraga y Muciño-Márquez 2012;Tomasini-Ortiz et al, 2012); así como en diferentes cuerpos de agua como el lago de Chapultepec, los canales de Xochimilco, Cuemanco y la presa Zimapán. Los florecimiento algales nocivos (FAN) o tóxicos de las cianofitas, afectan la calidad del agua, los recursos pesqueros, a los animales y al hombre.…”