Rapid bioassay for microcystin toxicity based on feeding activity of Daphnia

• Published in: Bulletin of environmental contamination and toxicology Vol. 70; no. 5; pp. 861 - 867
• Main Authors: KIM, J.-H, YOON, B.-D, OH, H.-M
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York, NY Springer-Verlag 01.05.2003; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Animal, plant and microbial ecology; Animals; Applied ecology; Bacterial Toxins; Bioassays; Biological and medical sciences; Biological Assay - methods; Ceriodaphnia dubia; Cladocera; Crustacea; Cyanobacteria; Daphnia; Daphnia magna; Ecotoxicology, biological effects of pollution; Feeding Behavior; Fresh water environment; Freshwater; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Marine Toxins; Microcystins; Peptides, Cyclic - toxicity; Microcystis aeruginosa; Feeding behavior; Bioassay; Toxicity; Cladocera; Crustacea; Toxin; Rapid technique; Investigation method; Microbial origin; Arthropoda; Cyanobacteria; Bloom; Bacteria; Invertebrata; Branchiopoda; Daphnia magna
• ISSN: 0007-4861; 1432-0800
• DOI: 10.1007/s00128-003-0062-9

Microcystins (MCs) are hepatotoxin produced by bloom-forming cyanobacteria, primarily Microcystis species, in eutrophic lakes and reservoirs. These toxins are soluble cyclic heptapeptide and are known to be poisonous to many kinds of aquatic organisms. MCs may be directly lethal to zooplankton, reduce the feeding activity, or influence the community structure of zooplankton. However, the effect is highly variable and inconsistent between zooplankton species. Daphnia magna Straus (Cladocera, Crustacea) have been widely used as an acute and chronic test organism for cyanobacterial toxins because of its sensitivity to toxicants, rapid reproduction rate, short-term lifetime, and easy culturing and handling. Acute toxicity tests with daphnids use immobilization as an end-point and require 24 hr or 48 hr as an exposure time, whereas chronic toxicity tests based on the reproduction rate require at least 14 d (OECD 1984). Short-term acute toxicity to heavy metals based on the suppression of the feeding activity of Ceriodaphnia dubia has also been explored (Bitton et al. 1995, 1996; Lee et al. 1997). In this case, a 1-hr or 6-hr feeding activity suppression assay as an end-point was found to be similar in sensitivity to the traditional 48-hr acute bioassay. However, previous studies on the development of a short-term acute bioassay for MC using Daphnia are rare, and no rapid bioassay for MC-LR using the feeding activity of Daphnia has yet been reported. MC-LR including leucine and arginine as variable amino acid is the most common variant of the MCs reported to date. Accordingly, the aim of the current study was to develop a rapid and simple toxicity test for MC-LR based on the suppression of the feeding activity of D. magna.