Influences of Cyanobacterial Toxins Microcystins on the Seedling of Plants

Thanh-Son Dao, Thai-Hang Le, Thanh-Luu Pham, Lan-Chi Do-Hong, Phuoc-Dan Nguyen

Graduate School of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Tsukuba, Japan.
Institute for Environment and Resources, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.
University of Technology, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.
Vietnam National University, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.

DOI: 10.4236/jep.2014.51005                

Abstract

Cyanobacterial blooms associated by their toxins have been increasing in frequency in fresh water bodies throughout the world. Among the cyanobacterial toxins, microcystins (MC) are the most common and cause severe adverse impacts on plants, aquatic organisms and human beings. In this study, the effects of MC (at the concentrations of 20 and 200 μg·L^-1) from field water and crude extract of cyanobacterial scum (mainly Microcystis spp.) from the Dau Tieng Reservoir, Vietnam, on the seedlings of three plants, Brassica rapa-chinensis, B. narinosa and Nasturtium officinale, were investigated for over a period of 7 days. The results showed that MC reduced the fresh weight, root and shoot length of the exposed seedlings. In addition, abnormalities of leaf shape and color of B. rapa-chinensis under exposure to MC were observed. The results implied that MC were taken up and might be accumulated in the seedlings possessing potential risk to consumers as seedlings of these plants are a common food source for Vietnamese. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report on the effects of MC on B. rapa-chinensis, B. narinosa and N. officinale.

Keywords

Microcystins; Adverse Effects; Fresh Weight; Root and Shoot Length; Abnormalities

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

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