ABSTRACT
Poisoning of livestock from drinking water containing blue-green algae has been reported worldwide for over a century. The scum of blue-green algae was described as being like green oil paint, thick and pasty as porridge. The smell as it decomposed was likened to putrid urine. Studies on the toxicity of this species have shown selective hepatotoxicity, the cause of death being either acute blood loss into the liver, or progressive liver failure. Australian recreational uses of brackish water estuaries are likely to be severely affected by blue-green algae by the end of the century unless action is taken to reduce phosphate in streams and rivers. Two L-amino acids In the ring are interchangeable without variation in toxicity, and one or several variant toxins may be obtained from the same isolate of cells. In fresh-water lakes and reservoirs in Australia different species of cyanobacteria occur. One of these is Microcystisaeruginosa, which has caused livestock deaths on farms along the Dividing Range.
