Monday, September 13, 2010
Hall B (Convention Center)
Hepatotoxic microcystins are non-ribosomal cyclic peptides that disrupt cellular control processes through inhibition of protein phosphatases 1 and 2A, which functions on dephosphorylation. Due to worldwide occurrence of Microcystis, primary producer of these toxins, World Health Organization (WHO) recommended regulation on the use of drinking and recreational waters. Microcystins have almost 80 congeners with MC-LR as the most studied. MC-RR, another well-demanded congener is not as stable as MC-LR when it comes to storage in solvents and also in the analysis, making it more challenging for production. This study aims to analyze the microcystin composition in the laboratory cultured Microcystis to choose which of the clones have the potential for mass cultivation for toxin standard production. Ten laboratory clones from China, France and Taiwan were profiled yielding several MC congeners ranging from MC-LR, -RR, -WR, -FR and desmethyl group. Among the clones, M. TN-4 was chosen since it has high MC-RR content. Microcystin are very useful in functional genomic and ecological studies. With its availability, in-depth studies on the characteristic and behavior of microcystins can be done, both in the environment and on aquatic organisms.