Cyanobacterial toxins: A short review on phytotoxic effect in an aquatic environment

Abstract

Cyanobacteria are photosynthetic prokaryotes which frequently form blooms in eutrophic water bodies. Some species of cyanobacteria are able to produce toxins (cyanotoxins) that can cause aquatic environment and diverse organisms living there to be at a serious risk. One of the more serious impacts of eutrophication on aquatic ecosystems is the disappearance of submerged macrophytes and the shift to a phytoplankton-dominated state. Hence, cyanobacterial blooms may be of significant negative ecological impact. This may represent a sanitary risk due to toxin bioaccumulation and biotransfer through the food chain. So, with the increasing number of new researches made on this subject, we propose this paper to review clearly many recent and original reports that have demonstrated the effects of cyanotoxins on some biological and physiological pathways in different aquatic plants.

Keywords: Cyanotoxins, microcystins, aquatic plants, eco-physiological, sanitary risk.