• Journal of Korean Society on Water Environment
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• v.16 no.4
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• pp.479-490
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• 2000

This study investigated the removal characteristics, Microcystin decomposition and generation of by-products when aqueous Microcystis sp. is oxidized by ozone. The concentration of Microcystin (MC) in aqueous solution has been found by HPLC analysis to decrease continuously by ozonation after the initial, abrupt increase. The kinetic constant of the decomposition of MC-RR and -LR were 0.0596 and 0.0243, respectively. This means that removal efficiency of MC-RR by its oxidative decomposition is preferable compared with that of MC-LR. On the other hand, it has been found that the decomposition product, TOC, exhibits the continuous decrease in the concentration by further ozonation, while DOC and UV-254 increase temporarily until 10 minutes before the decrease. Furthermore, the GC/MSD analysis has revealed that the ozonation of Microcystis sp. for 100minutes affords five kinds of aldehydes, six kinds of alcohols, and trans-1, 2-dimethyl-cyclopropane.

• Korean Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.40 no.1
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• pp.149-154
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• 2007

In the present study, we performed the PCR assay using TOX2P/TOX2M primer targeting a specific region within mcyB gene to identify potential microcystin-producing cyanobacteria. TOX2P/TOX2M primer set was effective in amplifying mcy gene in the field samples containing Microcystis spp. of 1,000 cells per mL. Moreover, the results from the PCR assay agreed with those of the ELISA analysis. Consequently, this study demonstrated that TOX2P/TOX2M primer set can be used as a genetic probe for the early detection of cyanobacterial toxigenicity in Korean water bodies.

• Toxicological Research
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• v.22 no.3
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• pp.301-306
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• 2006

Microcystin-LR(MC-LR), a cyanobacterial toxin produced by Microcystis aeruginosa, causes severe hepatotoxicity. Here we investigated the morphologic changes of rat hepatocyte spheroid induced by exposure of MC-LR($10^{-6}M$) in vitro. In addition, to determine the effects of such toxin in the process of hepatocyte spheroid formation, primarily isolated hepatocytes were incubated with MC-LR and the process of spheroid formation was observed. In both hepatocyte spheroid and suspension culture systems, the morphologic changes caused by MC-LR were noticible at 5 min post exposure and were characterized by the loss of microvilli, cytoplasmic vacuolation, the accumulation of lipid droplets, and blob formation. Especially, the size and numbers of blob on the cell surface were increased as the incubation time prolonged and the appearance of electron dense bodies were observed in the cytoplasm of hepatocyte at 20 min post exposure. Furthermore, bile canaliculi-like structures in the hepatocyte spheroids were slightly widened and the process of spheroids formation was inhibited in the isolated hepatocytes incubated with MC-LR. These results indicate that morphologic changes in. the hepatocyte membrane and organelles seem to be typical events in showing the MC-LR induced hepatotoxic effects and the spheroid culture method might be a useful experimental tool to evaluate hepatoxicity since it reflects the in vivo status of hepatocytes.

• Journal of Environmental Science International
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• v.14 no.7
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• pp.649-655
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• 2005

Microcystis aeruginosa is common form of cyanobacteria (blue-green algae) capable of producing toxic heptapeptide (microcystin) that cause illness or death. The comparison of molecular genetic method with the morphological characteristics of cyanobacteria was conducted. We have designed PCR primers (JJM98F, JJM1141R) for cyanobacterial 16S rRNA and phycocyanin intergenic spacer (PC-IGS) gene domain. To confirm the production of microcystins, PCR primers for the N-methyltransferase (NMT) domain of microcystin synthetase gene mcyA were designed using 21 cyanobacteria strains Most of isolated strains from the Nakdong River was classified as Microcystis aeruginosa and the similarities were $99\%$ with M. aeruginosa AF 139292. $38.1\%$ of isolated strains contained microcystin synthesis gene. NMT (N-methyltransferase) were not detected in isolated strain in several strains, which means non-toxic. However, the NMTs of the strains were detected during the cultivation.

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.26 no.6
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• pp.939-942
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• 2005

For the detection of cyanobacterial toxin, an Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was integrated into a PDMS microchip. The conjugates of microcystin-LR (MCLR) and keyhole limpet hemocyanin (KLH) were adsorbed on the surface of polystyrene beads and these MCLR-KLH polystyrene beads were introduced into a microchamber. MCLR on the surface of polystyrene beads reacted with horseradish peroxides (HRP) conjugated anti-MCLR monoclonal antibody (mAb) which had a competitive reaction with MCLR in water sample. After the enzyme substrate 3,3,5,5-tetramethyl benzidine (TMB) was injected into the chamber and catalyzed by HRP, the color change was detected with a liquid-cord waveguide. This integration shortened the conventional ELISA analysis time from several hours to about 30 min with only 4.2 $\mu$L MCLR sample consuming which was useful for the environmental analysis. More over, troublesome operations required for ELISA could be replaced by simple operations. The microchip based detection system showed a good sensitivity of 0.05 $\mu$g/L and maintained good reliability through its quantitative range with low coefficients of variation (2.5-10.5%).

• Korean Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.44 no.4
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• pp.347-357
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• 2011

We examined two reservoirs (Inkyung res. and Joongang res.) and two streams (Kyungan str. and Jecheon str.), all of which were eutrophic, during the 2010 warm season, to evaluate the water quality improvement activity (WQIA) of plant-mineral composite (PMC), which was previously developed to control suspended solids, including cyanobacterial bloom (Kim et al., 2010). We simultaneously measured both solid (S-MCLR) and dissolved microcystin-LR (D-MCLR), before and after PMC treatment, in the Joongang reservoir. Taking water body size and volume into account, we conducted the whole-scale experiment in the Inkyung reservoir, and mesocosm-scale experiments in the other three systems. The WQIAs of PMC were found to be comparatively high in SS (70~81%), TP (75~91%), BOD (65~91%), Chl-a (88~98%), phytoplankton (84~92%) and zooplankton (68~88%), except for the Kyungan stream, which was below 45% in all parameters. After PMC treatment, the concentrations of both SMCLR (47%) and D-MCLR (96%) decreased within two days, suggesting a mitigation possibility of hazardous chemicals such as agrochemicals and endocrine disrupters in the aquatic ecosystem. Our results collectively indicate that PMC is a useful agent to control suspended solids, including nuisance cyanobacterial bloom and their exudates, in an undisturbed water system with a long residence time.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Fisheries Technology Conference
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• 1996.06a
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• pp.281-282
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• 1996

• Proceedings of the Zoological Society Korea Conference
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• 2000.10a
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• pp.148.1-148
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• 2000

• Journal of Environmental Science International
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• v.12 no.9
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• pp.935-941
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• 2003

To investigate the interaction of bacteria and Microcystis isolated from a hypertrophic reservoir(Seo-Nakdong River), the response of five bacteria in relation to the different treatment of Microcystis and microcystin production by addition of dominant bacteria Staphylococcus sciuri were examined. Five bacteria (S. sciuri, S. capitis, S. epidermis, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Aeromonas aimonicida) were identified from the reservoir. In the experiment of bacterial response, two types of bacterial growth pattern were observed. All bacteria showed active growth in heated Microcystis-added media. Especially, three species of bacteria (S. sciuri, S. capitis and P. aeruginosa) among them showed active growth in live Microcystis-added media. In Microcystis response, increase of microcystin production showed when dominant bacteria, S. sciuri was added.

• Proceedings of the Zoological Society Korea Conference
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• 1998.10b
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• pp.191.1-191
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• 1998

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