Microcystin assimilation and detoxification by Daphnia spp. in two ecosystems of different cyanotoxin concentrations

Submitted: 14 June 2012
Accepted: 16 November 2012
Published: 6 February 2013
Abstract Views: 3232
PDF: 934
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Microcystins (MCs), the main group of cyanotoxins, can induce oxidative stress in the cells of aquatic animals. This study evaluated the sensitivity of daphniids – from two ecosystems characterised by different trophic states and habitat levels of cyanobacteria abundance – to microcystin toxicity by analysing oxidative stress parameters and MC detoxification ability. As a study site, we chose the eutrophic Sulejow reservoir, which has regular annual toxic cyanobacterial blooms, and the mesotrophic lake Białe, where low abundances of cyanobacteria have only recently appeared. We found much higher accumulations of MCs in tissues of Daphnia spp. in lake Białe, despite low toxin concentrations in this ecosystem compared with the Sulejow reservoir. Simultaneously, high levels of lipid peroxidation (LPO) and a significant decrease in glutathione (GSH) were observed in daphniid cells in lake Białe, while LPO levels were generally lower and GSH concentration more stable in the Sulejow reservoir. Catalase activity, which reflects more efficient oxidative protection, was always significantly higher in the reservoir than in lake Białe. These results demonstrate that generations of daphniids from the Sulejow reservoir had more effective antioxidant systems protecting them against the accumulation of cyanobacterial toxins; thereby, they are less susceptible to toxic effects than the daphniids from lake Białe. However, the presence of conjugate forms of microcystins (MC-GSH and MC-Cys) in tissues of the studied animals indicated the ability for MC detoxification by daphniids from the Sulejow reservoir and lake Białe. Nevertheless, the high effectiveness of antioxidant systems in daphniids coexisting with cyanobacteria for a long time in the Sulejow reservoir indicates the importance of a selective pressure exerted by toxic cyanobacterial strains that favours the most resistant daphniid genotypes.

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Supporting Agencies

Polish Ministry of Science and Higher Education
Adrianna Wojtal-Frankiewicz, Department of Applied Ecology, University of Lodz

Department of Applied Ecology

PhD

Joanna Bernasińska, Department of Molecular Biophysics, University of Lodz

Department of Molecular Biophysics

PhD

Tomasz Jurczak, Department of Applied Ecology, University of Lodz

Department of Applied Ecology

PhD

Krzysztof Gwoździński, Department of Molecular Biophysics, University of Lodz

Department of Molecular Biophysics

Professor

Piotr Frankiewicz, Department of Applied Ecology, University of Lodz

Department of Applied Ecology

Professor

Marzena Wielanek, Department of Plant Physiology and Biochemistry, University of Lodz

Department of Plant Physiology and Biochemistry

PhD

How to Cite

Wojtal-Frankiewicz, Adrianna, Joanna Bernasińska, Tomasz Jurczak, Krzysztof Gwoździński, Piotr Frankiewicz, and Marzena Wielanek. 2013. “Microcystin Assimilation and Detoxification by Daphnia Spp. In Two Ecosystems of Different Cyanotoxin Concentrations”. Journal of Limnology 72 (1):e13. https://doi.org/10.4081/jlimnol.2013.e13.