title: Detection of harmful cyanobacteria and their toxins by both PCR amplification and LC-MS during a bloom event.
abstract: 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.
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Análises Clínicas e Toxicológicas, Faculdade de Ciências Farmacêuticas, CEP 05508-900, Universidade de São Paulo, SP, Brazil.
authors.forename: Fabyana Maria
authors.initials: FM
authors.lastname: dos Anjos
authors.forename: Maria do Carmo
authors.initials: Mdo C
authors.lastname: Bittencourt-Oliveira
authors.forename: Meron Petro
authors.initials: MP
authors.lastname: Zajac
authors.forename: Susann
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Hiller
authors.forename: Bernd
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Christian
authors.forename: Katrin
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Erler
authors.forename: Bernd
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Luckas
authors.forename: Ernani
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Pinto
mesh_terms: 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*
chemical_list: D001427:Bacterial Toxins; D017931:DNA Primers