The cyanoprocaryotes (cyanobacteria) are distributed globally. Their ability to bloom in water is mainly a result of eutrophication of water bodies, the safety of which is connected to the presence of toxin producing algal species (Oliver and Ganf, 2000). Cyanobacteria can produce a broad spectrum of toxins – cyanotoxins EFFECT OF TEMPERATURE AND LIGHT INTENSITY ON THE GROWTH, CHLOROPHYLL A CON...

An overview is presented on the projects that are being carried out by Water Quality and Treatment Laboratory team of LNEC which use activated carbon based technologies for treating water or wastewater. Emphasis is given to the chemical enhancement of conventional wastewater treatment using “green” powdered activated carbon options, hybrid adsorption/ membrane processes or biologically active c...

Portuguese freshwater reservoirs are important socio-economic resources, namely for recreational use. National legislation concerning bathing waters does not include mandatory levels or guidelines for cyanobacteria and cyanotoxins. This is an issue of concern since cyanotoxin-based evidence is insufficient to change the law, and the collection of scientific evidence has been hampered by the lac...

Autotrophic organisms obtain phosphorus from the environment by secreting alkaline phosphatases that act on esters, resulting in inorganic phosphate that is then taken up. New work shows that the cyanobacterium Aphanizomenon ovalisporum obtains inorganic phosphate by secreting the cyanotoxin cylindrospermopsin, which induces alkaline phosphatase in other phytoplankton species.

Morphologically, physiologically and metabolically, cyanobacteria (blue-green algae) are one of the most diverse groups of prokaryotes. Cyanobacteria bloom abundantly in surface waters as a result of eutrophication, and they produce different types of toxins, so they not only hinder recreational use of bodies of water but also cause health problems in humans and animals. Cyanobacterial toxins (...