The production of toxin from bloom, scum or mat forming cyanobacteria in fresh, brackish and marine waters is becoming a global issue. The toxins produced comprise mainly hepatotoxins and neurotoxins. Of these toxins microcystin is a cyclic heptapeptide produced by Microcystis, Planktothrix, Anabaena, Nostoc, Hapalosiphon and Anabaenopsis. Microcystins (MCs) comprise more than 80 variants and a...

Nutrient regulation of alkaline phosphatase (phosphomonoesterase - PMEase) was studied in some diazotrophic cyanobacterial strains like Anabaena variabilis, Anabaena torulosa, Calothrix brevissima, Scytonema javanicum and Hapalosiphon intricatus, in response to the macronutrients (Phosphate, Calcium and Magnesium) and the micronutrients (Zinc, Copper, Iron and Manganese). The phosphate grown ce...

Alkaline phosphatase (phosphomonoesterase i.e. PMEase) activity in heterocystous cyanobacteria Anabaena flos-aquae, Nostoc calcicola, Calothrix brevissima, Scytonema javanicum and Hapalosiphon intricatus is known to be temperature and pH dependent. Maximum level of enzyme activity was recorded at either 35 degrees C or 37.5 degrees C. Also, the cell bound phosphomonoesterase enzyme was shown to...

Avian vacuolar myelinopathy (AVM) is a neurologic disease primarily affecting bald eagles (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) and American coots (Fulica americana). The disease was first characterized in bald eagles in Arkansas in 1994 and then in American coots in 1996. To date, AVM has been confirmed in six additional avian species. Attempts to identify the etiology of AVM have been unsuccessful to da...

The interactive effect of metal ions namely chromium and iron has been studied under controlled conditions on the diazotropic cyanobacterium Hapalosiphon stuhlmannii and the photosynthetic green alga Scenedesmus quadricauda over the exponential growth period of the cells. The work describes by employing an exponential cell growth model, the effect of metal ions both individually and in combinat...