Cylindrospermopsin is a cyanotoxin produced by a variety of freshwater cyanobacteria. CYN is a polycyclic uracil derivative containing guanidino and sulfate groups. It is also zwitterionic, making it highly water soluble. CYN is toxic to liver and kidney tissue and is thought to inhibit protein synthesis and to covalently modify DNA and/or RNA. It is not known whether cylindrospermopsin is a carcinogen, but it appears to have no tumour initiating activity in mice.
An algal bloom in a river near Chengdu, Sichuan, China.
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
