Screening Potential of Vibrio Fischeri Bioluminescence-Inhibition Bioassay for Assessing Cyanobacterial Toxicity

Nora Kováts1, András Ács1, Tünde Kovács1, Gábor Vasas2, László Hiripi3, and Gábor Paulovits3

1 Institute of Environmental Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Pannon University, Veszprém, Hungary
2 Dept. of Botany, University of Debrecen, Debrecen, Hungary
3 Limnological Research Institute of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Tihany, Hungary

Corresponding author: Dr. Nora Kováts
    Institute of Environmental Engineering,
    Faculty of Engineering, Pannon University
    Egyetem str. 10
    POB. 158, 8200 Veszprém, Hungary
    Telephone: 06-36 88 624655
    E-mail: kovats@almos.vein.hu

CEJOEM 2007, Vol.13. No.3-4.: 325-344

Key words:
Cyanobacterial toxicity, Microcystis, Vibrio fischeri, bioluminescence inhibition, Thamnotox

Abstract:
Extended research has been done to select alternative tests for cyanobacterial toxicity testing, in order to substitute the mouse test, where toxins are injected intraperitoneally to the test organism. This effort on one hand complies with the official strategy of the European Union for handling chemicals and which states that tests using mammals should be replaced whenever possible with alternative methods. Also, as intraperitoneal injection represents a rather unreal exposure pathway, testing with aquatic organisms approaches actual environmental conditions much better. Although application of ecotoxtests might be inadequate for testing cyanobacterial toxins at low level, they can still be used for pre-screening of environmental samples, especially algal blooms. In this study the screening potential of the Vibrio fischeri bioluminescence inhibition test was evaluated for testing cyanobacterial toxicity, based on the sensitivity and reaction time of the assay. The test did show good consistency with a widely recommended microbiotest, the Thamnocephalus platyurus assay, with a correlation coefficient of 0.887. As the test can be completed in one hour, its screening potential is high and can especially be recommended in case of emergency.

Received: 17 September 2007
Accepted: 10 July 2008
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