Toxicological implications of microcystins for zebrafish embryos in the presence of other environmental pollutants.

Microcystins (MCs) interact with environmental contaminants as well as various other congeners of the MC family in the natural environment and with antioxidants in the exposed organisms. These interactions are likely to modify the toxicological behavior of MCs at the cellular level. The present study was conducted to determine the toxicological response of extracellular MCs in aquatic systems under environmentally relevant conditions. Microcystin-leucine-arginine (MCLR) and microcystin-arginine-arginine (MCRR) were introduced at different concentrations in a single-component (MCLR or MCRR) or dual-component (MCLR and MCRR) system to zebrafish embryos in the presence of inorganic elements (Hg, As, Pb, and Cd) and nutrient species (NO3 (-) , PO4 (3-) , and Cl(-1) ). Hatchability, heart rate, and mortality of zerbrafish embryos were monitored together with changes in the activity of glutathione-S-transferase (GST) to evaluate their response on exposure to MCLR and MCRR. There was a significant reduction in all these parameters at higher doses of MCLR and MCRR (>100 ng/mL), implying bioaccumulation of these MCs in embryos and adverse effects on early development stages of the fish. It was further observed that PO4 (3-) and Cl(-) enhanced the toxic effects of MCLR and MCRR while NO3 (-) attenuated their toxic effects. In contrast, all 4 toxic elements together increased the toxicity of MCLR and MCRR to embryos compared with their single-component counterparts. Thus, the toxic effects of MCs depend not only on their relative environmental concentrations, but also on those of other environmental pollutants and the levels of antioxidants in exposed organisms.