“Believers can detect BMAA in all samples, while non-believers found none and remain skeptical”, says Cheng-Cai Zhang, co-corresponding author of a new study published in Water Biology and Security.
Interestingly, the authors had previously demonstrated the toxicity of BMAA to various cyanobacterial species, a finding that appeared contradictory to these organisms’ ability to produce this compound. In their recent study, the researchers created an amino acid transport mutant incapable of absorbing BMAA.
“Using this mutant as a control, we observed that the detection method effectively identified BMAA when cells took up the compound. However, in the absence of externally added BMAA, no signal for BMAA was detectable,” shared Zhang.
This approach served to validate their detection method, demonstrating its sensitivity comparable to that reported in existing literature. However, the team encountered a signal that closely resembled BMAA but was, in fact, identified as DAB, a commonly occurring BMAA isomer.
“When we applied this highly sensitive method to a broad collection of laboratory-cultured strains and natural cyanobacterial bloom samples, none of them yielded detectable levels of BMAA,” said Zhang.
These new findings, in conjunction with BMAA’s known toxicity, raises significant doubts regarding its cyanobacterial origin. They also underscore the importance of incorporating single ion chromatograms for distinguishing BMAA from DAB or other isomers in future BMAA research.
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References
DOI
Original Source URL
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.watbs.2023.100208
Funding information
Funded by the Institute of Hydrobiology, CAS
Journal