title: BMAA in shellfish from two Portuguese transitional water bodies suggests the marine dinoflagellate Gymnodinium catenatum as a potential BMAA source.
abstract: The neurotoxin β-N-methylamino-l-alanine (BMAA) and its putative role in multiple neurodegenerative diseases have been intensely studied since 2005 when the toxin was discovered to be produced by worldwide-distributed cyanobacterial species inhabiting terrestrial, marine, brackish, and freshwater ecosystems. Recently, BMAA production was also associated with one eukaryotic group, namely, diatoms, raising questions about its production by other phytoplanktonic groups. To test for BMAA bioavailability in ecosystems where abundant phytoplanktonic blooms regularly occur, samples of filter-feeding shellfish were collected in two Portuguese transitional water bodies. BMAA content in cockles (Cerastoderma edule) collected weekly between September and November 2009 from Ria de Aveiro and at least once a month from May to November from Ria Formosa, fluctuated from 0.079±0.055 to 0.354±0.066μg/g DW and from below the limit of detection to 0.434±0.110μg/g DW, respectively. Simultaneously to BMAA occurrence in cockles, paralytic shellfish toxins were detected in shellfish as a result of Gymnodinium catenatum blooms indicating a possible link between this marine dinoflagellate and BMAA production. Moreover, considerable high BMAA levels, 0.457±0.186μg/g DW, were then determined in a laboratory grown culture of G. catenatum. This work reveals for the first time the presence of BMAA in shellfish from Atlantic transitional water bodies and consubstantiate evidences of G. catenatum as one of the main sources of BMAA in these ecosystems.
authors.affiliation: Department of Ecology, Environment and Plant Sciences, Stockholm University, 10654 Stockholm, Sweden.
authors.forename: Sandra
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Lage
authors.affiliation: IPMA - Instituto Português do Mar e da Atmosfera, Av. Brasília, 1449-006 Lisbon, Portugal.
authors.forename: Pedro Reis
authors.initials: PR
authors.lastname: Costa
authors.affiliation: IPMA - Instituto Português do Mar e da Atmosfera, Av. Brasília, 1449-006 Lisbon, Portugal.
authors.forename: Teresa
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Moita
authors.affiliation: Department of Ecology, Environment and Plant Sciences, Stockholm University, 10654 Stockholm, Sweden.
authors.forename: Johan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Eriksson
authors.affiliation: Department of Ecology, Environment and Plant Sciences, Stockholm University, 10654 Stockholm, Sweden.
authors.forename: Ulla
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Rasmussen
authors.affiliation: Department of Ecology, Environment and Plant Sciences, Stockholm University, 10654 Stockholm, Sweden. Electronic address: sara.rydberg@su.se.
authors.forename: Sara Jonasson
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Rydberg
mesh_terms: D000599:Amino Acids, Diamino / Q000032:analysis*; D000818:Animals; D049873:Cardiidae / Q000737:chemistry*; D000087522:Cyanobacteria Toxins; D004141:Dinoflagellida / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000378:metabolism*; D020387:Food Chain; D011174:Portugal; D045483:Rivers; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000032:analysis*
chemical_list: D000599:Amino Acids, Diamino; D000087522:Cyanobacteria Toxins; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical; C001824:beta-N-methylamino-L-alanine
keywords: Bioaccumulation; Cerastoderma edule; Dinoflagellates; Gymnodinium catenatum; Paralytic shellfish toxins; Portugal; Transitional water bodies; β-N-methylamino-l-alanine (BMAA)