• Submit to Marine Drugs Login Register
• MDPI
• Journals A-Z
• For Authors
• For Editors
• About
• Open Access Policy

• Abstract
• Full-Text PDF [343 KB]
• Full-Text XML
• Article Versions Notes

• Article Statistics
• PubMed/Medline
• Google Scholar
• Order Reprints

• Cite this article
• Export to BibTeX
• Export to EndNote

• [+] on DOAJ
• Lopes, VR.
• Fernández, N
• Martins, RF.
• Vasconcelos, V
• [+] on Google Scholar
• Lopes, VR.
• Fernández, N
• Martins, RF.
• Vasconcelos, V
• [+] on PubMed
• Lopes, VR.
• Fernández, N
• Martins, RF.
• Vasconcelos, V

•  CiteULike
•  Facebook
•  Mendeley
•  Twitter

This article is

• freely available
• re-usable

Mar. Drugs 2010, 8(3), 471-482; doi:10.3390/md8030471

Article

Primary Screening of the Bioactivity of Brackishwater Cyanobacteria: Toxicity of Crude Extracts to Artemia salina Larvae and Paracentrotus lividus Embryos

Viviana R. Lopes ^1,2,* , Nuria Fernández ³ , Rosário F. Martins ^1,4,5  and Vitor Vasconcelos ^1,2

¹ LEGE/CIIMAR/CIMAR_LA, Laboratory of Ecotoxicology, Genomic and Evolution, Centre of Environmental and Marine Research, University of Porto, Rua dos Bragas 289, 4050-123 Porto, Portugal ² Department of Biology, Sciences Faculty, University of Porto, Rua do Campo Alegre, 4169-007 Porto, Portugal ³ Recursos Mariños e Pesquerías, Facultade de Ciencias, Universidade da Coruña, Alejandro de la Sota, no.1 C.P:15008 A Coruña, Spain ⁴ Escola Superior de Tecnologia da Saúde do Porto, Instituto Politécnico do Porto, Rua Valente Perfeito 322, 4400-330 Vila Nova de Gaia, Portugal ⁵ IBMC–Institute for Molecular and Cell Biology, University of Porto, R.Campo Alegre 823, 4150-180 Porto, Portugal

* Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.

Received: 30 December 2009; in revised form: 18 February 2010 / Accepted: 3 March 2010 / Published: 5 March 2010

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Marine Bioactive Compounds Acting on Animal Reproduction)

Download PDF Full-Text [343 KB, uploaded 8 March 2010 14:06 CET]

Abstract: Cyanobacteria are a diverse group of Gram-negative bacteria that produce an array of secondary compounds with selective bioactivity against vertebrates, invertebrates, plants, microalgae, fungi, bacteria, viruses and cell lines. The aim of this study was to assess the toxic effects of aqueous, methanolic and hexane crude extracts of benthic and picoplanktonic cyanobacteria isolated from estuarine environments, towards the nauplii of the brine shrimp Artemia salina and embryos of the sea urchin Paracentrotus lividus. The A. salina lethality test was used as a frontline screen and then complemented by the more specific sea urchin embryo-larval assay. Eighteen cyanobacterial isolates, belonging to the genera Cyanobium, Leptolyngbya, Microcoleus, Phormidium, Nodularia, Nostoc and Synechocystis, were tested. Aqueous extracts of cyanobacteria strains showed potent toxicity against A. salina, whereas in P. lividus, methanolic and aqueous extracts showed embryo toxicity, with clear effects on development during early stages. The results suggest that the brackishwater cyanobacteria are producers of bioactive compounds with toxicological effects that may interfere with the dynamics of invertebrate populations.

Keywords: brackishwater cyanobacteria; sea urchin Paracentrotus lividus embryo larval bioassay; brine shrimp Artemia salina lethality test; benthic habitats

Article Statistics

Cite This Article