Cyanotoxins : occurrence, causes, consequences

1 Introduction: Cyanotoxins - Research for Environmental Safety and Human Health. - 2 Cyanotoxin Occurrence in Freshwaters. - 2.1 Cyanotoxin Occurrence in Germany. - 2.1. 1 The Waterbodies Surveyed for Cyanotoxins in Germany. - 2.1. 2 Microcystins and Hepatocyte Toxicity. - 2.1. 3 Cyanobacterial Neurotoxins. - 2.2 Comparison of Cyanotoxin Occurrence in Different Countries. - 2.2.1 Toxic Cyanobacterial Blooms of Inland Waters in Southern Norway 1978-1998. - 2.2.2 Toxic Freshwater Cyanobacteria in Denmark. - 2.2.3 Microcystin-LR and Total Microcystins in Cyanobacterial Blooms in the Czech Republic 1993-1998. - 2.2. 4 Freshwater Cyanobacteria and their Toxins in Portugal. - 2.2. 5 Cyanotoxins and Cyanobacterial Blooms in South Korean Lakes. - 2.2. 6 Cyanotoxin Occurrence in Freshwaters - a Summmary of Survey Results from Different Countries. - 2.3 Release and Persistence of Microcystins in Natural Waters. - 3 Factors Controlling Cellular Microcystin Content. - 3.1 Effects of Light and Nutrient Supply on Growth and Microcystin Content of Different Strains of Microcystis aeruginosa. - 3.2 Light-Limited Growth and Microcystin Content of Planktothrix agardhii and Microcystis aeruginosa in Turbidostats. - 3.3 Importance of Energy Charge for Microcystin Production. - 3.4 Characterization of Microcystin Synthetase Genes in Microcystis aeruginosa. - 4 Factors Affecting Cyanotoxin Concentrations in Natural Populations. - 4.1 Microcystin Variants in Microcystis and Planktothrix Dominated Field Samples. - 4.2 Isolation and Characterization of Colony-Forming Microcystis aeruginosa Strains. - 4.3 Environmental Factors an Microcystin Levels in Waterbodies. - 5 Cyanobacterial Toxicity and Human Exposure. - 5.1 Cyanotoxins and Human Health - Overview. - 5.2 Recreational Exposure to Cyanotoxins. - 5.3 Cyanotoxins in Drinking-Water Supplies. - 5.3.1 An Extensive Outbreak of Gastroenteritis Associated with the Toxic Cyanobacterium Planktothrix agardhii (Oscillatoriales, Cyanophyceae) in Scania, South Sweden. - 5.3.2 Cyanobacterial Toxins in Drinking Water: a Canadian Perspective. - 5.3.3 Dissolved Microcystins in Raw and Treated Drinking Water in the Czech Republic. - 5.3.4 Microcystin Analysis in Selected Drinking-Water Supplies in Germany. - 5.3.4.1 Elimination of Microcystins in the Rostock Drinking-Water Treatment Plant. - 5.3.4.2 Elimination of Microcystins at Dortendorf: Conventional Treatment and a Pilot Experimental Treatment System. - 5.3.4.3 Elimination of Microcystins Through Bank Filtration at the Radeburg Reservoir. - 5.3.4.4 Reducing Intake of Microcystins at the Deesbach Reservoir Drinking-Water Abstraction System. - 6 Effects of Microcystis spp. and Selected Cyanotoxins on Freshwater Organisms. - 6.1 Effects of Cyanotoxins on Early Life Stages of Fish and Amphibians. - 6.2 Uptake, Enzyme Effects and Metabolism of Microcystin-LR in Aquatic Organisms. - 6.2.1 Uptake of Microcystin-LR in Aquatic Organisms. - 6.2.2 Effects of Microcystin-LR on Detoxication Enzymes. - 6.2.3 Metabolism of Microcystin-LR in Aquatic Organisms. - 6.3 Changes of Fish Behaviour Affected by Microcystin-LR. - 6.4 Responses of Daphnia galeata fed with Microcystis strains with and without Microcystins. - 7 Toxic Effects and Substances in Cyanobacteria other than Microcystins, Anatoxin-a and Saxitoxins. - 7.1 Peptides and Depsipeptides Produced by Cyanobacteria. - 7.2 Significance of Unidentified Toxic Compounds and Approaches to their Identification. - 7.3 New Cyanobacterial Substances with Bioactive Properties. - 8 Contributions to Toxicity Testing and Toxin Analysis. - 8.1 Testing Cyanobacterial Toxicity with Primary Rat Hepatocyte and Cell-Line Assays. - 8.2 Can the Primary Rat Hepatocyte Assay Replace the Mouse Assay for Microcystin Testing? Validation with "Historic" Samples from the First Survey on Cyanobacterial Toxicity in Germany. - 8.3 Comparative Evaluation of Methods for Assessing Microcystin Concentrations with a Variety of Field Samples. - 8.4 A Fish-Embryo Bioassay for the Assessment of Cyanobacterial Toxicity. - 8.5 Rapid Typing and Structure Determination of Cyanobacterial Peptides Using MALDI-TOF Mass Spectrometry. - 9 Routine Analytical Methods Applied in the German Cyanotox Project. - 9.1 Microcystin Analysis. - 9.2 Cell Counting, Determination of Biovolume and Chlorophyll-a.