No β-N-Methylamino-L-alanine (BMAA) was detected in stranded cetaceans from Galicia (North-West Spain)

• Autor(a) principal: Soliño, Lucia
• Data de Publicação: 2022
• Outros Autores: Kim, Sea-Yong, López, Alfredo, Covelo, Pablo, Rydberg, Sara, Reis Costa, Pedro, Lage, Sandra
• Tipo de documento: Artigo
• Idioma: eng
• Título da fonte: Repositório Científico de Acesso Aberto de Portugal (Repositórios Cientìficos)
• Texto Completo: http://hdl.handle.net/10400.1/17730
• topic: Marine mammals; Phycotoxins; Harmful algae blooms; Bioaccumulation; Marine food webs; Alzheimer disease

The neurotoxin β-N-methylamino-L-alanine (BMAA), a non-proteinogenic amino acid produced by several species of both prokaryotic (cyanobacteria) and eukaryotic (diatoms) microorganisms, has been proposed to be associated with the development of neurodegenerative diseases. At first, BMAA appeared to be ubiquitously present worldwide in various organisms, from aquatic and terrestrial food webs. However, recent studies, using detection methods based on mass spectrometry, instead of fluorescence detection, suggest that the trophic transfer of BMAA is debatable. This study evaluated BMAA in 22 cetaceans of three different species (<i>Phocoena phocoena</i>, <i>n</i> = 8, <i>Delphinus delphis</i>, <i>n</i> = 8, and <i>Tursiops truncatus</i>, <i>n</i> = 6), found stranded in North-West Spain. BMAA analysis of the liver, kidney, or muscle tissues via sensitive liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry did not reveal the presence of this compound or its isomers. The absence recorded in this study highlights the need to better understand the trophic transfer of BMAA and its anatomical distribution in marine mammals.