Endocrine, teratogenic and neurotoxic effects of cyanobacteria detected by cellular in vitro and zebrafish embryos assays

Application of cellular biosensors for detection of atypical toxic bioactivity in microcystin-containing cyanobacterial extracts

“…Numerous studies using bioassays (Bláha et al, 2010), as well as recent work with cellular biosensors of endocrine disruption (Jonas et al, 2014(Jonas et al, , 2015 have also concentrated on demonstrating that microcystins are not responsible for the biological effects observed in these experiments. The present results also showed that focusing on one toxic compound (in environmental monitoring practice this is most commonly microcystin-LR) is not a valid approach to the holistic evaluation of environmental risk for human health from cyanobacterial blooms.…”

“…This analytical approach is a cutting edge tool in aquatic toxicology and arouses increasing interest in ecotoxicological circles, as several recent publications have shown (Singh et al, 2012;Weller, 2013). Within the last two years, the cellular biosensor method has helped to identify potential developmental toxicity effects of cyanobacterial extracts due to their endocrine disruption potency (Jonas et al, 2014(Jonas et al, , 2015. Endocrine disruption has been exhaustively studied as molecular mechanism of environmental toxicity for several decades and reporter gene assays are an obvious tool for its evaluation (Baker, 2001).…”

“…Unfortunately, most were directed at specific types of main groups of toxins, such as microcystins or cylindrospermopsin (see reviews by Singh et al, 2012 andWeller, 2013). Pioneering studies from the laboratories of Ludek Bláha and Klára Hilscherová applied reporter gene-based biosensors to evaluation of endocrine disruption potential of cyanobacterial cell components, with estrogen-like and retinoid-like activity detected (Štěpánková et al, 2011;Sychrová et al, 2012;Jonas et al, 2014Jonas et al, , 2015.…”

Multi-year succession of cyanobacteria blooms in a highland reservoir with changing nutrient status, Guizhou Province, China

“…Harmful algal blooms have been reported in the scientific literature for more than 130 years (Francis, 1878;O'Neil et al, 2012) and are presently increasing in occurrence events across freshwater systems (Hallegraeff, 1993;Paerl and Huisman, 2009). These blooms are associated with poor water quality, accumulation of aquatic biomass and low saturated oxygen levels (Jonas et al, 2014;Wiegand and Pflugmacher, 2005). Cyanobacteria under certain conditions can also produce toxins which along with taste and odor compounds have negative biological and human health effects (Jonas et al, 2014;Pick, 2016;Wiegand and Pflumacher, 2005).…”

“…These blooms are associated with poor water quality, accumulation of aquatic biomass and low saturated oxygen levels (Jonas et al, 2014;Wiegand and Pflugmacher, 2005). Cyanobacteria under certain conditions can also produce toxins which along with taste and odor compounds have negative biological and human health effects (Jonas et al, 2014;Pick, 2016;Wiegand and Pflumacher, 2005). Massive proliferations of harmful algae in freshwater and marine ecosystems have caused losses to natural resources, national economies, and resulted in human sickness and death worldwide (Bláha et al, 2009;Lewitus et al, 2012;Ma et al, 2014).…”