MERHAB23: Expansion of our anatoxin-a monitoring methods to include new and additional congeners

PELAGIC CYANOBACTERIA HARMFUL ALGAL BLOOMS (CYANOHABS) WERE FIRST IN LAKE ERIE IN 2000. MANY GREAT LAKE STATES, INCLUDING NY, MI, WI AND OH, NOW HAVE ROBUST PELAGIC MONITORING PROGRAMS. THESE MONITORING PROGRAMS ARE STRONGLY FOCUSED ON MICROCYSTINS, A HEPATIC PEPTIDE PRODUCED BY PLANKTOTHRIX AND MICROCYSTIS SPECIES. WHILE MICROCYSTINS REMAIN COMMON AND WIDESPREAD, OTHER CYANOTOXINS AND CYANOTOXIN SYNTHETASE GENES ARE BEING INCREASINGLY REPORTED IN LAKE ERIE AND ACROSS THE LAURENTIAN GREAT LAKES. THE PRIMARY FOCUS OF THIS PROJECT ARE THE ALKALOID NEUROTOXINS IN THE ANATOXIN FAMILY. THESE NEUROTOXINS CAUSE RESPIRATORY PARALYSIS AND HAVE BEEN ASSOCIATED WITH DOG, LIVESTOCK, AND WILDLIFE FATALITIES. THEY ARE OFTEN NOT INCLUDED IN MANY MONITORING PROGRAMS. ANATOXIN-A IS COMMONLY MEASURED BY LC-MS/MS USING EPA METHOD 545, HOWEVER THIS METHOD DOES NOT INCLUDE THE OTHER ANATOXIN VARIANTS IN THIS CLASS OF COMPOUNDS. WORK IN NY AND LAKE ERIE HAS SHOWN THAT HOMOANATOXIN-A (HATX) AND THE DIHYDROAN