Three experiments were performed in this work to assess the effects of
A. ovalisporum cell extracts and CYN in rice plants. Experiment 1: 20-day old rice
plants were exposed to A. ovalisporum cell extracts containing 2.5 mg CYN/L for
48 h. After this period roots and leaves were collected and stored at 80 1C for
biochemical analyses or freeze dried to determine the dry weight and cyanotoxin
concentration. Experiment 2: Rice plants were exposed to A. ovalisporum extracts
containing 2.5 mg CYN/L for a period up to 9 days. Samples were collected at days
2, 3, 6 and 9. Nutrient solutions with the cyanotoxin extract were replaced every
48 h. Experiment 3: rice plants were exposed to a mixture of cyanobacterial cell
extracts containing MCs and CYN for 48 h. In this experiment plants were treated
as follow: with 50 ml of methanol (100%) (MeOH group) because it is the matrix
used to dissolve the extract of M. aeruginosa; with the extract of A. ovalisporum
containing 0.13 mg CYN/L (CYN group); with the extract of M. aeruginosa containing
50 mg MC-LR/L (MC group); with the mixture of cyanobacterial extracts
containing 50 mg MC-LR/L and 0.13 mg CYN/L (MC-CYN group).