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. 1999 Feb;65(2):737-9.
doi: 10.1128/AEM.65.2.737-739.1999.

Role of microcystins in poisoning and food ingestion inhibition of Daphnia galeata caused by the cyanobacterium Microcystis aeruginosa

T Rohrlack  1 , E Dittmann, M Henning, T Börner, J G Kohl
Affiliations

Role of microcystins in poisoning and food ingestion inhibition of Daphnia galeata caused by the cyanobacterium Microcystis aeruginosa

T Rohrlack et al. Appl Environ Microbiol. 1999 Feb.

Abstract

The effects of microcystins on Daphnia galeata, a typical filter-feeding grazer in eutrophic lakes, were investigated. To do this, the microcystin-producing wild-type strain Microcystis aeruginosa PCC7806 was compared with a mcy- PCC7806 mutant, which could not synthesize any variant of microcystin due to mutation of a microcystin synthetase gene. The wild-type strain was found to be poisonous to D. galeata, whereas the mcy- mutant did not have any lethal effect on the animals. Both variants of PCC7806 were able to reduce the Daphnia ingestion rate. Our results suggest that microcystins are the most likely cause of the daphnid poisoning observed when wild-type strain PCC7806 is fed to the animals, but these toxins are not responsible for inhibition of the ingestion process.

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Figures

FIG. 1
FIG. 1
Ingestion rates of the strains investigated (means ± standard errors; n = 7 for wild-type PCC7806 and the mcy− mutant of PCC7806; n = 9 for HUB 5-3). d, day.
FIG. 2
FIG. 2
Survival of D. galeata in suspensions containing wild-type PCC7806, the mcy− mutant of PCC7806, and the nonfood control (results of one of the four replicate experiments). d, day.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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