ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Microbiol.
Sec. Aquatic Microbiology
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2025.1623621
This article is part of the Research TopicProgress in Microalgae Research, 2024: Freshwater MicroalgaeView all 9 articles
Developmental neurotoxicity of an anatoxin-a-producing cyanobacteria (Aphanizomenon gracile) lysate to zebrafish (Danio rerio)
Provisionally accepted
He Zhang1*
Chang Liu1Baiyu Cui2Lian Hu3Rui Li1
Peng Xiao1Jun Zuo1Zeshuang Wang1
Zengling Ma1Yuping Fan1
Renhui Li1- 1Wenzhou University, Wenzhou, China
- 2Shanxi Hyro-junction Management Center, Wenzhou, China
- 3Wencheng Ecological Environmental Monitoring Station, Wenzhou, China
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Harmful cyanobacterial blooms occur frequently worldwide with serious environmental impacts. Many detrimental cyanobacteria are well known for their potential to synthesize various cyanotoxins, posing significant threats to aquatic ecosystems and public health worldwide. While most studies focus on the toxicological impacts of microcystins and its main producer Microcystis aeruginosa, the ecotoxic effects of anatoxin-a and anatoxin-aproducing cyanobacteria are not fully understood. This study investigated the response of zebrafish (Danio rerio) to a ruptured cell solution (RCS) of a planktonic anatoxin-aproducing Aphanizomenon gracile. The RCS exposure negatively affected the hatching of zebrafish embryos, and promoted malformation. Furthermore, RCS treatment also disrupted neurobehaviors, and induced severe oxidative stress. In addition, the RCS inhibited the activity of acetylcholinesterase, and dysregulated the expression of several genes related to neuron-development and activated apoptosis in zebrafish. These results suggest that blooms of anatoxin-a-producing Aphanizomenon gracile will have neurotoxic effects on aquatic animals, and could impact human health. They help to further understand the potential neurotoxicity of harmful cyanobacteria, and highlight the need for further studies and risk assessments of the ecological impacts of harmful cyanobacterial blooms in freshwater ecosystems.
Keywords: Harmful cyanobacterial bloom, cyanotoxin, developmental neurotoxicity, Oxidative Stress, Apoptosis
Received: 06 May 2025; Accepted: 11 Aug 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Zhang, Liu, Cui, Hu, Li, Xiao, Zuo, Wang, Ma, Fan and Li. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: He Zhang, Wenzhou University, Wenzhou, China
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