title: Cyanobacterial Toxic and Bioactive Peptides in Freshwater Bodies of Greece: Concentrations, Occurrence Patterns, and Implications for Human Health.
abstract: Cyanobacterial harmful algal blooms represent one of the most conspicuous waterborne microbial hazards in aquatic environments mostly due to the production of toxic secondary metabolites, mainly microcystins (MCs). Other bioactive peptides are frequently found in cyanobacterial blooms, yet their concentration and ecological relevance is still unknown. In this paper we studied the presence and concentration of cyanobacterial peptides (microcystins, anabaenopeptins, anabaenopeptilides) in 36 Greek freshwater bodies, using HPLC-DAD, ELISA, and PP1IA. Microcystins were found in more than 90% of the samples investigated, indicating that microcystin-producing strains seem to also occur in lakes without blooms. Microcystins MC-RR, MC-LR, and MC-YR were the main toxin constituents of the bloom samples. Anabaenopeptin A and B were predominant in some samples, whereas anabaenopeptolide 90A was the only peptide found in Lake Mikri Prespa. The intracellular concentrations of anabaenopeptins produced by cyanobacterial bloom populations are determined for the first time in this study; the high (>1000 µg·L(-1)) anabaenopeptin concentration found indicates there may be some impacts, at least on the ecology and the food web structure of the aquatic ecosystems. The maximum intracellular MC values measured in Lakes Kastoria and Pamvotis, exceeding 10,000 µg·L(-1), are among the highest reported.
authors.affiliation: Department of Botany, School of Biology, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, GR-541 24 Thessaloniki, Greece. sgkelis@bio.auth.gr.|Department of Food and Environmental Sciences, Division of Microbiology and Biotechnology, University of Helsinki, P.O. Box 56, FI-00014 Helsinki, Finland. sgkelis@bio.auth.gr.
authors.forename: Spyros
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Gkelis
authors.affiliation: Department of Botany, School of Biology, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, GR-541 24 Thessaloniki, Greece. lanaras@bio.auth.gr.
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Lanaras
authors.affiliation: Department of Food and Environmental Sciences, Division of Microbiology and Biotechnology, University of Helsinki, P.O. Box 56, FI-00014 Helsinki, Finland. kaarina.sivonen@helsinki.fi.
authors.forename: Kaarina
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Sivonen
mesh_terms: D002851:Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid; D000458:Cyanobacteria / Q000378:metabolism*; D004784:Environmental Monitoring / Q000379:methods; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D005618:Fresh Water; D006115:Greece; D057097:Harmful Algal Bloom; D006801:Humans; D052998:Microcystins / Q000032:analysis / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D010455:Peptides / Q000032:analysis / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D064210:Secondary Metabolism
chemical_list: D052998:Microcystins; D010455:Peptides
keywords: Greece; anabaenopeptilides; anabaenopeptins; cyanobacteria; harmful algal blooms; microcystins; risk assessment