Detection of harmful cyanobacteria and their toxins by both PCR amplification and LC-MS during a bloom event.
We briefly report here the occurrence of toxic blooms in the eutrophic reservoir Billings, São Paulo city, Brazil. Water samples were collected in May 2004, during a cyanobacterial bloom. The presence of toxic species was confirmed by using PCR amplifications of a fragment region of genes encoding microcystin synthetase-mcyB. The determination of toxins was performed by liquid chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry (LC-MS). LC-MS analyses of the toxins from the bloom revealed variants of microcystins (MC), such as MC-LR, MC-RR and MC-YR. HPLC-FLD was used to determine the paralytic shellfish poisoning (PSP) saxitoxin (STX), neosaxitoxin (NEO), gonyautoxins 2 (GTX2) and 3 (GTX3). GTX2, GTX3 and NEO were detected for the first time in a natural sample from Billings reservoir. These results are a contribution to the knowledge of the biogeography of toxic cyanobacteria and their toxins, specifically in São Paulo.
dos Anjos
Fabyana Maria
FM
Departamento de Análises Clínicas e Toxicológicas, Faculdade de Ciências Farmacêuticas, CEP 05508-900, Universidade de São Paulo, SP, Brazil.
Bittencourt-Oliveira
Maria do Carmo
Mdo C
Zajac
Meron Petro
MP
Hiller
Susann
S
Christian
Bernd
B
Erler
Katrin
K
Luckas
Bernd
B
Pinto
Ernani
E
D001427:Bacterial Toxins / Q000032:analysis*; D001483:Base Sequence; D002851:Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid / Q000379:methods*; D000458:Cyanobacteria / Q000235:genetics / Q000254:growth & development / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D017931:DNA Primers; D004587:Electrophoresis, Agar Gel; D013058:Mass Spectrometry / Q000379:methods*; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction / Q000379:methods*
D001427:Bacterial Toxins; D017931:DNA Primers