{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,21]],"date-time":"2026-08-21T13:11:23Z","timestamp":1787317883637,"version":"build-2736575974"},"reference-count":32,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"7","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2021,7,8]],"date-time":"2021-07-08T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1625702400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Toxins"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Cyanobacteria are ubiquitous photosynthetic microorganisms considered as important contributors to the formation of Earth\u2019s atmosphere and to the process of nitrogen fixation. However, they are also frequently associated with toxic blooms, named cyanobacterial harmful algal blooms (cyanoHABs). This paper reports on an unusual out-of-season cyanoHAB and its dynamics during the COVID-19 pandemic, in Lake Avernus, South Italy. Fast detection strategy (FDS) was used to assess this phenomenon, through the integration of satellite imagery and biomolecular investigation of the environmental samples. Data obtained unveiled a widespread Microcystis sp. bloom in February 2020 (i.e., winter season in Italy), which completely disappeared at the end of the following COVID-19 lockdown, when almost all urban activities were suspended. Due to potential harmfulness of cyanoHABs, crude extracts from the \u201cwinter bloom\u201d were evaluated for their cytotoxicity in two different human cell lines, namely normal dermal fibroblasts (NHDF) and breast adenocarcinoma cells (MCF-7). The chloroform extract was shown to exert the highest cytotoxic activity, which has been correlated to the presence of cyanotoxins, i.e., microcystins, micropeptins, anabaenopeptins, and aeruginopeptins, detected by molecular networking analysis of liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS\/MS) data.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/toxins13070471","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2021,7,8]],"date-time":"2021-07-08T04:32:49Z","timestamp":1625718769000},"page":"471","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":18,"title":["Monitoring Cyanobacterial Blooms during the COVID-19 Pandemic in Campania, Italy: The Case of Lake Avernus"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"13","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-0817-7743","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Roberta","family":"Teta","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Pharmacy, University of Naples Federico II, Via Domenico Montesano 49, 80131 Napoli, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-8957-3259","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Gerardo Della","family":"Sala","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Marine Biotechnology, Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn, Villa Comunale, 80121 Napoli, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-9619-7511","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Germana","family":"Esposito","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Pharmacy, University of Naples Federico II, Via Domenico Montesano 49, 80131 Napoli, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-2200-5083","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Mariano","family":"Stornaiuolo","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Pharmacy, University of Naples Federico II, Via Domenico Montesano 49, 80131 Napoli, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Silvia","family":"Scarpato","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Pharmacy, University of Naples Federico II, Via Domenico Montesano 49, 80131 Napoli, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-7579-3231","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Marco","family":"Casazza","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Sciences and Technologies, University of Naples Parthenope, Centro Direzionale di Napoli, Isola C 4, 80143 Napoli, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Aniello","family":"Anastasio","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Production, University of Naples Federico II, Via Federico Delpino 1, 80137 Napoli, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-4842-6049","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Massimiliano","family":"Lega","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Engineering, University of Naples Parthenope, Centro Direzionale di Napoli, Isola C 4, 80143 Napoli, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-8723-9505","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Valeria","family":"Costantino","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Pharmacy, University of Naples Federico II, Via Domenico Montesano 49, 80131 Napoli, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2021,7,8]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","unstructured":"(2021, May 25). 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