Algae Anabaena flos-aquae

Parsons and coworkers [174] have published a route to anatoxin-o, which was isolated from strains of freshwater blue-green algae Anabaena flos aqua and is responsible for the death of livestock, waterfowl, and fish [175]. The sequence started... 

Anatoxin-a is a toxic alkaloid occurring in the filamentous blue-green alga Anabaena flos-aquae and has been responsible for fatalities amongst livestock and wildlife. Mass and n.m.r. spectroscopy, and X-ray diffraction analysis of its N-acetyl derivative, pointed to structure and absolute stereochemistry (12) for ana-... 

Algal blooms in fresh water ponds occasionally poison livestock and waterfowl. Axenic cultures of Anabaena flos-aquae NRC 44-1 were shown to produce the toxic principle (5) which can be present in the algae and in the water of mature cultures (6). The discovery of the toxin was fortuitous in the sense that AChR agonists do not have a (known) constructive function in the algae evolution of the synthetic pathway was likely a by-product of metabolic pathways in the algae. The compound became evident only through its toxic effects on other organisms. 

Figure 1. Structure of anatoxin-a from Anabaena flos-aquae NRC-44-1, saxitoxin and neosaxitoxin. Saxitoxin and neosaxitoxin is produced by certain species of marine algae and by the freshwater cyanobacteria Aphanizomenon flos-aquae NH-5.

Himberg, K. 1989. Determination of anatoxin-a. the neurotoxin of Anabaena flos-aquae cyanobacterium, in algae and water by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. J Chromatogr 481,358-362. 

Strains studied were as follows Anabaena sp. PCC7120, Anabaena cylindrica IAM M-l, Anabaena variabilis IAM M-58, Anabaenopsis circularis IAM M-4, Nostoc muscorum IAM M-14, Nostoc linckia IAM M-30, Nostoc commune IAM M-13, Nostoc carneum IAM M-35, Cylindrospermum muscicola IAM M-32, Anabaena cylindrica UTEX B 629, Anabaena flos-aquae UTEX 1444, and Anabaena flos-aquae UTEX LB 2558. Anabaena sp. PCC7120 was kindly donated by Dr. Ohmori of the University of Tokyo. UTEX and IAM strains were obtained from the Culture Collection of Algae at the University of Texas and the Institute of Applied Microbiology, University of Tokyo, respectively. 

Mahmood, N., Carmichael, W., and Pfhaler, D. (1988). Anticholinesterase poisoning in dogs from a cyanobacterial (blue-green algae) bloom dominated by Anabaena flos-aquae. Am. J. Vet. Res. 49, 500-503. 

Toxins formed by various strains of the cyanobacterium Anabaena flos-aquae ( blue algae ) which often cause animal poisonings. 

Krishnamarty, T. Carmichael, W.W. Sarver, E.W. Investigations of freshwater cyanobacteria (blue-green algae) toxic peptides I. Isolation, purification and characterization of peptides from Microcystis aeruginosa and Anabaena flos-aquae. Toxicon 1986, 24, 865-872. 

Smith RA, Lewis D (1987) A rapid analysis of water for anatoxin a, the unstable toxic alkaloid from Anabaenaflos-aquae, the stable non-toxic alkaloids leftafUa-biraeduction and a related amine which may be nature s precursor to anatoxin a. Vet Hum Toxicol 29 153-154 Harada K-I, Kimura Y, Ogawa K, Suzuki M, Dahlem AM, Beasley VR, Carmichael WW (1989) A new procedure for the analysis and purification of naturally occurring anatoxin-a from the blue-green alga Anabaena flos-aqme. Toxicon 27 1289-1296. doi 10.1016/0041-0101(89)90060-3... 

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