| Major Taxonomic
Group: Cyanobacteria
Size and Shape:
Colonial cyanobacteria
that form hollow spherical or tubular colonies. Individual cells
are 3-8 µm in diameter.
Plastids and
Pigments: No plastids
(its a prokaryote), Chla and phycobilliproteins.
Distinguishing
features: Large blooms
of Microcystis can cause huge greenish mats on the surface of
ponds.
The individual colonies are usully composed of a hollow sphere or
cylinder.
Distribution:
Primarilly a freshwater
genus, Microcystis has been reported in brackish water.
Impact:
Produces the peptide toxin
microcystin which causes liver damage and can be a major drinking-water
contaminant. In 1996 55 human deaths were attributed to Microcystis
contamination
in a Brazilian hospital.
References:
Lewitus,
A.J., Schmidt, L.B.,
Mason, L.J., Kempton, J.W., Wilde, S.B., Wolny, J.L., Williams, B.J.,
Hayes,
K.C., Hymel, S.N., Keppler, C.J., and Ringwood, A.H. (2003) Harmful
algal
blooms in South Carolina residential and golf course ponds. Population
and Environment. 24: 387-413.
Jochimsen,
E.M., Carmichael,
W.W., An, J.S., Cardo, D.M., Cookson, S.T., Holmes, C.E.M., Antunes,
M.B.D.,
Demelo, D.A., Lyra, T.M., Barreto, V.S.T., Azevedo, S.M.F.O., and
Jarvis,
W.R. (1996) Liver failure and death after exposure to microcystins at a
hemodialysis center in Brazil. New England J. of Medicine.
338: 873-878.
Falconer,
I.R., Beresford,
A.M., and Runnegar, M.T. (1983) Evidence of liver damage by toxin from
a bloom of the blue-green alga Microcystis aeruginosa. Med.
J.
Australia. 1: 511-514
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