Accumulation of free and covalently bound microcystins in tissues of Lymnaea stagnalis (Gastropoda) following toxic cyanobacteria or dissolved microcystin-LR exposure

Accumulation of free microcystins (MCs) in freshwater gastropods has been demonstrated but accumulation of MCs covalently bound to tissues has never been considered so far Here, we follow the accumulation of total (free and bound) MCs in Lymnaea stagnalis exposed to i) dissolved MC-LR (33 and 100 mu g L(-1)) and ii) Planktothrix agardhu suspensions producing 5 and 33 mu g MC-LR equivalents L(-1) over a 5-week period, and after a 3-week depuration period Snails exposed to dissolved MC-LR accumulated up to 0 26 mu g total MCs g(-1) dry weight (DW), with no detection of bound MCs. Snails exposed to MCs producing P agardhu accumulated tip to 69.9 mu g total MCs g(-1) DW, of which from 177 to 66.7% were bound. After depuration, up to 15 3 mu g g(-1) DW of bound MCs were detected in snails previously exposed to toxic cyanobacteria, representing a potential source of MCs transfer through the food web (C)2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved