Cylindrospermopsin, a hepatotoxin produced by cyanobacteria, has been unamb
iguously detected in cyanobacteria collected from a recreational lake in th
e Wellington region of New Zealand. To our knowledge this is the first repo
rt of cylindrospermopsin in New Zealand. Cylindrospermopsin and several mic
rocystins were identified by reversed phase high-performance liquid chromat
ography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) and tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) u
sing an atmospheric-pressure ionization source and an ionspray interface. T
he presence of cylindrospermopsin in New Zealand highlights the risk of dir
ect cyanobacterial toxin exposure in recreational waters. Crown Copyright (
C) 2001 Published by Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.