TY  - GEN
N2  - In recent decades, cyanobacteria-dominated Harmful Algal Blooms (cyanoHABs) have increased in regularity and persistence, leading to increased concerns over water quality and human health. The buoyant cyanobacteria that form cyanoHABs are the main producers of cyanobacterial toxins (cyanotoxins), and the biochemical role of the well-documented cyanotoxins (e.g., microcystin and saxitoxin) is a focus of ongoing research, as identifying function is a prerequisite to enumerating the ecological drivers of toxin production. The atypical amino acid,  β-N-methylamino-L-alanine (BMAA), diverges from other cyanotoxins in that it lacks acute toxicity, and as such, has received comparatively less attention from scientists and regulatory agencies. However, mounting evidence suggests that environmental and food web exposure to BMAA is causal to the increased incidence of a histopathologically distinct form of Alzheimer's disease (AD) and/or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis/Parkinsonism-dementia complex (ALS/PDC) observed in multiple geographically isolated populations. As BMAA is the only cyanotoxin thus far detected in axenic cultures of representative species from all five cyanobacteria "Orders," the compound may play a fundamental role within the canonical cyanobacterial metabolon, warranting investigation into its metabolic function. To date, conclusive evidence of an ecological function, biosynthetic pathway, or environmental driver of production has not been presented for BMAA.
DO  - 10.6083/zw12z5859
DO  - DOI
AB  - In recent decades, cyanobacteria-dominated Harmful Algal Blooms (cyanoHABs) have increased in regularity and persistence, leading to increased concerns over water quality and human health. The buoyant cyanobacteria that form cyanoHABs are the main producers of cyanobacterial toxins (cyanotoxins), and the biochemical role of the well-documented cyanotoxins (e.g., microcystin and saxitoxin) is a focus of ongoing research, as identifying function is a prerequisite to enumerating the ecological drivers of toxin production. The atypical amino acid,  β-N-methylamino-L-alanine (BMAA), diverges from other cyanotoxins in that it lacks acute toxicity, and as such, has received comparatively less attention from scientists and regulatory agencies. However, mounting evidence suggests that environmental and food web exposure to BMAA is causal to the increased incidence of a histopathologically distinct form of Alzheimer's disease (AD) and/or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis/Parkinsonism-dementia complex (ALS/PDC) observed in multiple geographically isolated populations. As BMAA is the only cyanotoxin thus far detected in axenic cultures of representative species from all five cyanobacteria "Orders," the compound may play a fundamental role within the canonical cyanobacterial metabolon, warranting investigation into its metabolic function. To date, conclusive evidence of an ecological function, biosynthetic pathway, or environmental driver of production has not been presented for BMAA.
T1  - The ecophysiological drivers of production and cellular function of the neurotoxin β-N-Methylamino-L-Alanine in buoyant freshwater cyanobacteria
DA  - 2019
AU  - Dyer, Stuart W.
L1  - https://digitalcollections.ohsu.edu/record/7491/files/dyer.stuart.2019.pdf
PB  - Oregon Health and Science University
PY  - 2019
ID  - 7491
L4  - https://digitalcollections.ohsu.edu/record/7491/files/dyer.stuart.2019.pdf
KW  - Cyanobacteria
KW  - Ecotoxicology
KW  - bioanalytical chemistry
KW  - structural biology
KW  - harmful algal blooms
KW  - metabolic regulation
TI  - The ecophysiological drivers of production and cellular function of the neurotoxin β-N-Methylamino-L-Alanine in buoyant freshwater cyanobacteria
Y1  - 2019
L2  - https://digitalcollections.ohsu.edu/record/7491/files/dyer.stuart.2019.pdf
LK  - https://digitalcollections.ohsu.edu/record/7491/files/dyer.stuart.2019.pdf
UR  - https://digitalcollections.ohsu.edu/record/7491/files/dyer.stuart.2019.pdf
ER  -