FIRST REPORT OF MICROCYSTIN PRODUCING BY TWO TERRESTRIAL CYANOBACTERIA OF THE ‎GENERA FISCHERELLA SP. F29 AND NOSTOC SP. N27 FROM IRAN

Background and Aim:Cyanobacteria produce an unparalleled variety of toxins that can cause severe ‎health problems or even death in humans and wild or domestic animals. The ‎most frequently reported cyanobacterial toxin is hepatotoxin microcystin. ‎Microcystin is predominantly produced by different genera of freshwater ‎cyanobacteria, including Microcystis, Planktothrix and Anabaena, although it has ‎also been detected in terrestrial strains of the genera. ‎Methods:As there have been no reports of toxicity from terrestrial cyanobacteria of Iran, we ‎decided to conduct a preliminary study of the molecular toxicology in order to ‎identify the possible toxic cyanobacteria strains. In this study, we detected the ‎presence of mcyG in twenty five cyanobacteria strains collected from fifty ‎different agricultural areas in Kermanshah province by means of PCR. ‎Results:The results of molecular toxicology and phylogenetic analysis the genes ‎responsible for the production of secondary metabolites showed the occurrence of ‎only two microcystin producers. ‎Conclusion:This is the first report of cyanotoxin-producing strain in Iran.