Toxins 2013, 5(5), 992-1009; doi:10.3390/toxins5050992
Variations in the Microcystin Content of Different Fish Species Collected from a Eutrophic Lake
1
Department of Chemistry, State University of New York, College of Environmental Science and Forestry, Syracuse, NY 13210, USA
2
Ohio EPA, Division of Surface Water, Lazarus Government Center, P.O. Box 1049, 50 West Town Street, Suite 700, Columbus, OH 43216, USA
3
Ohio EPA, Division of Environmental Services (Laboratory), 8955 East Main Street, Reynoldsburg, OH 43068, USA
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Received: 2 April 2013 / Revised: 30 April 2013 / Accepted: 14 May 2013 / Published: 15 May 2013
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Cyanotoxins)
Abstract
Microcystins produced from cyanobacteria can accumulate in fish tissues. Liquid chromatography coupled with tandem quadrupole mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) is an attractive alternative to immunoassays for the determination of low concentrations of microcystins in tissues. Fish taken from Grand Lake St. Marys, a eutrophic lake in Ohio, USA, were analyzed for microcystin-LR in their fillets using LC-MS/MS. Of 129 fish tested for microcystins, only black crappie (Pomoxis nigromaculatus) and common carp (Cyprinus carpio) tested positive for microcystin-LR. Less than 10% of Pomoxis and 7% of Cyprinus samples contained measurable levels of microcystin-LR. Statistical analysis yielded a p-value of 0.07 between Pomoxis and the pooled results of the other four fish species. However, this comparison was complicated by the large difference in sample size between species. Further sampling in Grand Lake St. Marys for microcystin-LR would help determine if microcystin-LR exposure occurs through foodweb transfer.Keywords:
LC-MS/MS; microcystin-LR; accumulation; fish; cyanobacteria; toxin
This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY 3.0).
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MDPI and ACS Style
Schmidt, J.R.; Shaskus, M.; Estenik, J.F.; Oesch, C.; Khidekel, R.; Boyer, G.L. Variations in the Microcystin Content of Different Fish Species Collected from a Eutrophic Lake. Toxins 2013, 5, 992-1009.