title: Apparent bioaccumulation of cylindrospermopsin and paralytic shellfish toxins by finfish in Lake Catemaco (Veracruz, Mexico).
abstract: Compared to the well-characterized health threats associated with contamination of fish and shellfish by algal toxins in marine fisheries, the toxicological relevance of the bioaccumulation of toxins from cyanobacteria (blue-green algae), as the primary toxigenic algae in freshwater systems, remains relatively unknown. Lake Catemaco (Veracruz, Mexico) is a small, tropical lake system specifically characterized by a year-round dominance of the known toxigenic cyanobacterial genus, Cylindrospermopsis, and by low, but detectable, levels of both a cyanobacterial hepatotoxin, cylindrospermopsin (CYN), and paralytic shellfish toxins (PSTs). In the present study, we evaluated, using enzyme-linked immunoassay (ELISA), levels of both toxins in several species of finfish caught and consumed locally in the region to investigate the bioaccumulation of, and possible health threats associated with, these toxins as potential foodborne contaminants. ELISA detected levels of both CYN and PSTs in fish tissues from the lake. Levels were generally low (≤ 1 ng g(-1) tissue); however, calculated bioaccumulation factors (BAFs) indicate that toxin levels exceed the rather low levels in the water column and, consequently, indicated bioaccumulation (BAF >1). A reasonable correlation was observed between measured bioaccumulation of CYN and PSTs, possibly indicating a mutual source of both toxins, and most likely cells of Cylindrospermopsis, the dominant cyanobacteria in the lake, and a known producer of both metabolites. The potential roles of trophic transport in the system, as well as possible implications for human health with regards to bioaccumulation, are discussed.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Marine Science Program, Florida International University, 3000 NE 151st Street, North Miami, FL 33181, USA. berryj@fiu.edu
authors.forename: J P
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Berry
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Jaja-Chimedza
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Dávalos-Lind
authors.forename: O
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Lind
mesh_terms: D000470:Alkaloids; D000818:Animals; D001427:Bacterial Toxins; D000458:Cyanobacteria; D000087522:Cyanobacteria Toxins; D004784:Environmental Monitoring / Q000379:methods; D062665:Epidemiological Monitoring; D005399:Fishes / Q000378:metabolism*; D020387:Food Chain; D007448:Invertebrates; D060106:Lakes / Q000737:chemistry*; D008800:Mexico / Q000453:epidemiology; D057096:Shellfish Poisoning / Q000453:epidemiology; D014498:Uracil / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000633:toxicity; D014871:Water Microbiology; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D000470:Alkaloids; D001427:Bacterial Toxins; D000087522:Cyanobacteria Toxins; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical; C089595:cylindrospermopsin; D014498:Uracil