Cylindrospermopsin



Cylindrospermopsin is a cyanotoxin. It is a polycyclic uracil derivative produced by a variety of freshwater cyanobacteria. Several slightly different variants (deoxycylindro-spermopsin and 7-epicylindrospermopsin) are also known to be produced by cyanobacteria. The molecule exhibits toxicity to liver and kidney tissue and is thought to inhibit protein synthesis and to covalently (itself or a metabolite) binding to DNA and/or RNA. The molecule has been observed to be produced by Cylindrospermopsis raciborskii, Umezakia natans, Aphanizomenon ovalisporum, Anabaena bergii, and Raphidiopsis curvata. The carcinogenicity of cylindrospermopsin has not been determined but it appears to have no tumor initiating activity in mice.