Cyanotoxins are toxins produced by cyanobacteria. Cyanobacteria are found almost everywhere, but particularly in lakes and in the ocean where, under high concentration of phosphorus conditions, they reproduce exponentially to form blooms. Blooming cyanobacteria can produce cyanotoxins in such concentrations that they can poison and even kill animals and humans. Cyanotoxins can also accumulate in other animals such as fish and shellfish, and cause poisonings such as shellfish poisoning.
Green scum produced by and containing cyanobacteria, washed up on a rock in California during an algal bloom
Formation of cyanobacterial blooms Key factors include anthropogenic eutrophication, global climate change such as increased temperature and light or global warming due to an increase in ozone depleting substances (e.g., CO2, N2O, etc.), and other biotic and abiotic factors responsible for the worldwide bloom incidence.
Transmission from cyanobacteria to the bald eagle
A toxin is a naturally occurring organic poison produced by metabolic activities of living cells or organisms. They occur especially as proteins, often conjugated. The term was first used by organic chemist Ludwig Brieger (1849–1919) and is derived from the word "toxic".
The Amanita muscaria mushroom, an iconic toxic mushroom.
