Blue Green Algae.

Blue green algae cyanotoxins have become increasingly more prevalent due to environmental, industrial, and agricultural changes that promote their growth into harmful algal blooms. Animals are usually exposed via water used for drinking or bathing, though specific cases related to equines are very limited. The toxic dose for horses has not been determined, and currently only experimental data in other animals can be relied upon to aid in case interpretation and treatment. Treatment is mostly limited to supportive care, and preventative control methods to limit exposures are more likely to aid in animal health until more research has been performed.

Molecular and behavioral toxicity assessment of tiafenacil, a novel PPO-inhibiting herbicide, in zebrafish embryos/larvae.

Tiafenacil is a newly registered herbicide and a protoporphyrinogen IX oxidase inhibitor. However, sub-lethal effects of PPO-inhibitors in aquatic species are unknown. Embryos or larvae were exposed to 0.1 µg/L up to 10 mg/L tiafenacil for 7-days post-fertilization. Decreased survival (> 50%) and deformities were noted at concentrations > 1 mg/L. Potency (EC50) of tiafenacil for 5- and 7-day larvae were 818.1 µg/L and 821.7 µg/L, respectively. Pericardial and yolk sac edema were the most frequent deformities observed. Heartbeat frequency at 3 dpf was decreased in zebrafish exposed to > 10 µg/L tiafenacil, coinciding with increased reactive oxygen species. Oxygen consumption rates were not affected by tiafenacil, nor did we detect differences in indicators of apoptosis. The abundance of eighteen transcripts related to oxidative stress and mitochondrial complexes I through V were unchanged. Larval activity was decreased with exposure to 1000 µg/L tiafenacil. These data contribute to risk assessment for a new class of herbicide.