Potential risk of estrogenic compounds produced by water blooms to aquatic environment.

Some freshwater phytoplankton species have been suggested to produce estrogenic compounds in concentrations which could cause adverse effects to aquatic biota, while other studies showed no estrogenic effects after exposure to phytoplankton extracts or pointed out possible sources of the overestimation of the estrogenic activity. This study aimed to clarify these research inconsistencies by investigating estrogenicity of biomass extracts from both environmental freshwater blooms and laboratory cyanobacterial and algae cultures by in vitro reporter bioassay. Biomasses of 8 cyanobacterial and 3 algal species from 7 taxonomic orders were extracted and tested.

Muddying the unexplored post-industrial waters: Biodiversity and conservation potential of freshwater habitats in fly ash sedimentation lagoons.

Deposits of fly ash and other coal combustion wastes are common remnants of the energy industry. Despite their environmental risks from heavy metals and trace elements, they have been revealed as refuges for threatened terrestrial biodiversity. Surprisingly, freshwater biodiversity of fly ash sedimentation lagoons remains unknown despite such lack of knowledge strongly limits the efficient restoration of fly ash deposits.

Estrogenic and retinoid-like activity in stagnant waters with mass occurrence of water blooms.

Stagnant freshwaters can be affected by anthropogenic pollution and eutrophication that leads to massive growth of cyanobacteria and microalgae forming complex water blooms. These can produce various types of bioactive compounds, some of which may cause embryotoxicity, teratogenicity, endocrine disruption and impair animal or human health. This study focused on potential co-occurrence of estrogenic and retinoid-like activities in diverse stagnant freshwaters affected by phytoplankton blooms with varying taxonomic composition.

Occurrence of cylindrospermopsin, anatoxin-a and their homologs in the southern Czech Republic - Taxonomical, analytical, and molecular approaches.

Water bloom-forming cyanobacteria have a severe impact on freshwater quality. Although some cyanobacterial toxins such as microcystins have been studied extensively, other toxins like anatoxin-a (ATX) and their structural analogs - as well as cyanobacterial taxa producing these toxins remain to be explored in detail. The present study investigated levels of ATX, CYN and their homologs along with the occurrence of anaC and cyrJ genes in water blooms in 16 sites in the Czech Republic that were pre-selected concerning the presence of potential toxin producers.

Tenebriella gen. nov. - The dark twin of Oscillatoria.

Oscillatoria has long been known to be polyphyletic. After recent resequencing of the reference strain for this genus, many Oscillatoria-like groups phylogenetically distant from the type species O. princeps remained unresolved.

Widespread occurrence of retinoids in water bodies associated with cyanobacterial blooms dominated by diverse species.

Cyanobacterial blooms represent a worldwide problem in freshwater as well as marine ecosystems as producers of various toxic compounds. This study provides environmentally important information about the common presence of mixtures of retinoids in various water bodies associated with the occurrence of cyanobacterial blooms dominated by many different species. The study documents, for the first time, that retinoids are produced by environmental cyanobacterial blooms dominated by species belonging to different genera such as Microcystis, Dolichospermum, Planktothrix, Woronichinia, Pseudanabaena and others.

A new microcystin producing Nostoc strain discovered in broad toxicological screening of non-planktic Nostocaceae (cyanobacteria).

Benthic cyanobacteria recognized as producers of natural products, including cyanotoxins, have been neglected for systematic toxicological studies. Thus, we have performed a broad study investigating cyanotoxin potential of 311 non-planktic nostocacean representatives combining molecular and chemical analyses. Out of these, a single strain Nostoc sp.

Phytoestrogens and sterols in waters with cyanobacterial blooms - Analytical methods and estrogenic potencies.

Compounds with estrogenic potencies and their adverse effects in surface waters have received much attention. Both anthropogenic and natural compounds contribute to overall estrogenic activity in freshwaters. Recently, estrogenic potencies were also found to be associated with cyanobacteria and their blooms in surface waters.

Assessment of Chemical Impact of Invasive Bryozoan Pectinatella magnifica on the Environment: Cytotoxicity and Antimicrobial Activity of P. magnifica Extracts.

, an invasive bryozoan, might significantly affect ecosystem balance due to its massive occurrence in many areas in Europe and other parts of the world. Biological and chemical analyses are needed to get complete information about the impact of the animal on the environment. In this paper, we aimed to evaluate in vitro cytotoxic effects of five extracts prepared from using LDH assay on THP-1 cell line.