Abstract: Benthic cyanobacteria are globally distributed in various forms of aquatic systems,including river, lake, wetland, and spring. Due to their concealment and the difficulty of sampling, they have received less attention than their planktonic counterparts. Recently, excessive proliferation of toxic benthic cyanobacteria is increasing. We carried out a literature review on species composition, main factors affecting growth, harmful secondary metabolites, and methods of analysis and risk assessment of toxic benthic cyanobacteria. We reviewed the relationships of main environmental factors (light, temperature, nutrient, substrate, and flow disturbance) during the accumulation of toxic benthic cyanobacteria, and highlighted the importance of the interaction between toxic benthic cyanobacteria and microbial communities within mat habitats. We analyzed the categories of metabolites produced by different toxic species and the influencing factors of their production. Furthermore, we compared current methods for qualitative and quantitative analysis of toxic benthic cyanobacteria and their limitations, and recommended future directions to optimize the prediction and detection of highly concentrated toxic ones. This review provides reference for studies on excessive proliferation mechanisms and effective control methods for toxic benthic cyanobacteria.

Key words: maximum chlorophyll fluorescence under illumination, photosynthetic parameters., multiphase flush, rectangular flush