Host: Abstracts of Annual Meeting of the Geochemical Society of Japan
Pages 175-
Cyanotoxins in aquatic ecosystems have been investigated by many researchers worldwide. Cyanotoxins can be classified according to toxicity as neurotoxins (anatoxin-a, anatoxin-a(s), saxitoxins) or hepatotoxins (microcystins, nodularin, cylindrospermopsin). Cyanotoxins have been reported to cause adverse effects and to accumulate in aquatic organisms in lakes, rivers and oceans. Possible pathways of microcystins in the lake, have been investigated from five perspectives: production, adsorption, physiocochemical decomposition, bioaccumulation and biodegradation. In nature, microcystins are removed by biodegradation of microorganisms and/or feeding of predators. A complete understanding of the mechanism of cyanotoxins degradation in the ecosystem requires more intensive study, including a quantitative enumeration of cyanotoxin degrading microbes. This should be done in conjunction with an investigation of the microbial ecological mechanism of cyanobacteria degradation.
