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Updated: Jul 18, 2026

Protocol for Acute and Chronic Ecotoxicity Testing of the Turquoise Killifish Nothobranchius furzeri
Published on: April 24, 2018
Acute effects of an anatoxin-a producing cyanobacterium on juvenile fish-Cyprinus carpio L
Joana Osswald1, Sandra Rellán, António Paulo Carvalho
1Interdisciplinary Centre of Marine and Environmental Research-CIMAR-Laboratório Associado, Rua dos Bragas, 289, 4050 123 Porto, Portugal.
Abstract:
The worldwide increase of eutrophication in fresh water bodies has caused cyanobacterial blooms to be more frequent. Anatoxin-a is a potent neurotoxin known to be produced by several genera of cyanobacteria including Anabaena. In this work, we exposed juvenile carps to freeze-dried cells of a toxic strain of the cyanobacterium Anabaena sp. during a 4-day period. Two different cell density--10(5) and 10(7) cell ml(-1)--were assayed. Lethality and anatoxin-a concentration in the whole fish were determined. In the higher cell density, all fish died between 26 and 29 h after exposure to toxin, whereas in the 10(5) cell ml(-1) density no deaths were observed. Levels of anatoxin-a in the whole fish ranged between 0.031 microg g(-1)d.w. at the 10(5) cell ml(-1) concentration and 0.768 microg g(-1)d.w. at 10(7) cell ml(-1). Minor uptake of anatoxin-a occurred.
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