Allelopathic effects of mixotrophic dinoflagellate Akashiwo sanguinea on co-occurring phytoplankton: the significance of nutritional ecology

Blooms of Akashiwo sanguinea frequently break out around the world, causing huge economic losses to the aquaculture industry and seriously damaging coastal ecosystems. However, the formation mechanisms of A. sanguinea blooms remain unclear. We investigated the allelopathic effects of A. sanguinea on multiple phytoplankton species, explored the mode of allelochemicals action and the way of nutrient factors regulation of the allelopathic activity. Results show that strains of A. sanguinea could inhibit the growth of co-occurring phytoplankton including Scrippsiella trochoidea, Phaeocystis globosa, and Rhodomonas salina, but inhibition of Prorocentrum micans was not obvious. The inhibition rates on phytoplankton were positively correlated with the cell densities of A. sanguinea. The highest inhibition rate of 94% on R. salina was for A. sanguinea CCMA256 culture of 2 000 cells/mL at 72 h. We observed that cells of S. trochoidea, Ph. g lobosa, and R. sali na were lysed when co-cultured with A. sanguinea, with the shortest time for S. trochoidea. Additionally, the growth rates of A. sanguinea were promoted by coculturing with S. trochoidea, Ph. globosa, and R. salina. Four components of A. sanguinea culture were all able to inhibit growth of R. salina:the strongest inhibitory effect was found in the sonicated culture, followed by whole-cell culture, filtrates of sonicated culture, and filtrate culture. The crude extract of A. sanguinea culture also lysed cells of R. salina, and the inhibition rates on R. salina increased with the increasing dose of crude extract. It was shown that both nutrient enrichment and nitrogen:phosphorus ratio imbalance enhanced remarkably the allelopathic activity of A. sanguinea. The highest inhibition rate on R. salina of 70% occurred in A. sanguinea JX13 treatment at 2 000 cells/mL under high nutrient condition in 48 h. In JX14 treatment at 2 000 cells/mL for N:P of 10:1, the inhibition rate increased by 1.7 times of that for N:P of 20:1. In addition, the allelopathy of A. sanguinea could not only be a competitive strategy but also a nutrition strategy, playing an important role in formation and/or maintenance of blooms of the mixotrophic dinoflagellate A. sanguinea.     

Application of rotifer Brachionus plicatilis in detecting the toxicity of harmful algae

The toxicity of seven major HAB (harmful algal bloom) species/strains, Prorocentrum donghaiense, Phaeocystis globosa, Prorocentrum micans, Alexandrium tamarense (AT-6, non-PSP producer), Alexandrium lusitanicum, Alexandrum tamarense (ATHK) and Heterosigma akashiwo were studied against rotifer Brachionus plicatilis under laboratory conditions. The results show that P. donghaiense, P. globosa, P. micans, A. tamarense (AT-6), or A. lusitanicum could maintain the individual survival and reproduction, as well as the population increase of the rotifer, but the individual reproduction would decrease when exposed to these five algae at higher densities for nine days; H. akashiwo could decrease the individual survival and reproduction, as well as population increase of the rotifer, which is similar to that of the starvation group, indicating that starvation might be its one lethal factor except for the algal toxins; A. tamarense (ATHK) has strong lethal effect on the rotifer with 48h LC50 at 800 cells/mL. The experiment on ingestion ability indicated by gut pigment change shows that P.donghaiense, P. globosa, P. micans, A. tamarense (AT-6) and A. lusitanicum can be taken by the rotifers as food, but A. tamarense (ATHK) or H. akashiwo can be ingested by the rotifers. The results indicate that all the indexes of individual survival and reproduction, population increase, gut pigment change of the rotifers are good and convenient to be used to reflect the toxicities of HAB species. Therefore, rotifer is suggested as one of the toxicity testing organisms in detecting the toxicity of harmful algae.     

Application of rotifer Brachionus plicatilis in detecting the toxicity of harmful algae

The toxicity of seven major HAB (harmful algal bloom) species/strains, Prorocentrum donghaiense, Phaeocystis globosa, Prorocentrum micans, Alexandrium tamarense (AT-6, non-PSP producer), Alexandrium lusitanicum, Alexandrum tamarense (ATHK) and Heterosigma akashiwo were studied against rotifer Brachionus plicatilis under laboratory conditions. The results show that P. donghaiense, P. globosa, P. micans, A. tamarense (AT-6), or A. lusitanicum could maintain the individual survival and reproduction, as well as the population increase of the rotifer, but the individual reproduction would decrease when exposed to these five algae at higher densities for nine days; H. akashiwo could decrease the individual survival and reproduction, as well as population increase of the rotifer, which is similar to that of the starvation group, indicating that starvation might be its one lethal factor except for the algal toxins; A. tamarense (ATHK) has strong lethal effect on the rotifer with 48h LC₅₀ at 800 cells/mL. The experiment on ingestion ability indicated by gut pigment change shows that P. donghaiense, P. globosa, P. micans, A. tamarense (AT-6) and A. lusitanicum can be taken by the rotifers as food, but A. tamarense (ATHK) or H. akashiwo can be ingested by the rotifers. The results indicate that all the indexes of individual survival and reproduction, population increase, gut pigment change of the rotifers are good and convenient to be used to reflect the toxicities of HAB species. Therefore, rotifer is suggested as one of the toxicity testing organisms in detecting the toxicity of harmful algae. Supported by the Knowledge Innovation Program of Chinese Academy of Sciences (No. KZCX2-YW-208), National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 40821004, U0733006) and National Basic Research Program of China (973 Program, No. 2001CB409700)     

Identification of Volatile Compounds in Codfish(Gadus) by a Combination of Two Extraction Methods Coupled with GC-MS Analysis

Codfish is a kind of abyssal fish species with a great value in food industry. However, the flavor of codfish, especially the unpleasant odor, has caused serious problems in its processing. To accurately identify the volatile compounds in codfish, a combination of solid phase micro-extraction(SPME) method and simultaneous distillation extraction(SDE) method was used to extract the volatiles. Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry(GC-MS) along with Kovats indices(KI) and authentic standard compounds were used to identify the volatiles. The results showed that a total of 86 volatile compounds were identified in codfish, of them 24 were extracted by SDE, 69 compounds by SPME, and 10 compounds by both SDE and SPME. Seventy volatile compounds were found to have specific odors, of them 7 typical compounds contributed significantly to the flavor of codfish. Alcohols(i.e.,(E)-2-penten-1-ol and 2-octanol), esters(i.e., ethyl butyrate and methyl geranate), aldehydes(i.e., 2-dodecenal and pentadecanal) contributed the most to fresh flavor while nitrogen compounds, sulphur compounds, furans, as well as some ketones(i.e., 2-hydroxy-3-pentanone) brought unpleasant odor, such as fishy and earthy odor. It was indicated that the combination of multiple extraction methods and GC-MS analysis can enhance the accuracy of identification, and provide a reference for the further study on flavor of aquatic products.     

Analyzing the flavor compounds in Chinese traditional fermented shrimp pastes by HS-SPME-GC/MS and electronic nose

Shrimp paste is a type of condiments with high nutritional value. However, the flavors of shrimp paste, particularly the non-uniformity flavors, have limited its application in food processing. In order to identify the characteristic flavor compounds in Chinese traditional shrimp pastes, five kinds of typical commercial products were evaluated in this study. The differences in the volatile composition of the five products were investigated. Solid phase micro-extraction method was employed to extract the volatile compounds. GC-MS and electronic nose were applied to identify the compounds, and the data were analyzed using principal component analysis (PCA). A total of 62 volatile compounds were identified, including 8 alcohols, 7 aldehydes, 3 ketones, 7 ethers, 7 acids, 3 esters, 6 hydrocarbons, 12 pyrazines, 2 phenols, and 7 other compounds. The typical volatile compounds contributing to the flavor of shrimp paste were found as follows: dimethyl disulfide, dimethyl tetrasulfide, dimethyl trisulfide, 2, 3, 5-trimethyl-6-ethyl pyrazine, ethyl-2, 5-dimethyl-pyrazine, phenol and indole. Propanoic acid, butanoic acid, furans, and 2-hydroxy-3-pentanone caused unpleasant odors, such as pungent and rancid odors. Principal component analysis showed that the content of volatile compounds varied depending on the processing conditions and shrimp species. These results indicated that the combinations of multiple analysis and identification methods could make up the limitations of a single method, enhance the accuracy of identification, and provide useful information for sensory research and product development.     

Identification of volatile compounds in codfish (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Gadus</Emphasis>) by a combination of two extraction Methods coupled with GC-MS analysis

Codfish is a kind of abyssal fish species with a great value in food industry. However, the flavor of codfish, especially the unpleasant odor, has caused serious problems in its processing. To accurately identify the volatile compounds in codfish, a combination of solid phase micro-extraction (SPME) method and simultaneous distillation extraction (SDE) method was used to extract the volatiles. Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) along with Kovats indices (KI) and authentic standard compounds were used to identify the volatiles. The results showed that a total of 86 volatile compounds were identified in codfish, of them 24 were extracted by SDE, 69 compounds by SPME, and 10 compounds by both SDE and SPME. Seventy volatile compounds were found to have specific odors, of them 7 typical compounds contributed significantly to the flavor of codfish. Alcohols (i.e., (E)-2-penten-1-ol and 2-octanol), esters (i.e., ethyl butyrate and methyl geranate), aldehydes (i.e., 2-dodecenal and pentadecanal) contributed the most to fresh flavor while nitrogen compounds, sulphur compounds, furans, as well as some ketones (i.e., 2-hydroxy-3-pentanone) brought unpleasant odor, such as fishy and earthy odor. It was indicated that the combination of multiple extraction methods and GC-MS analysis can enhance the accuracy of identification, and provide a reference for the further study on flavor of aquatic products.     

Heavy metals in sediments of Yellow Sea and East China Sea: Chemical speciation,distribution, infl uence factor,and contamination

Metal species and the degree of environmental pollution are related to the hydrogen sulfi de(H 2 S), an important product of early diagenesis that can react with metals to form stable compounds. To investigate the eff ects of H 2 S to metals and evaluate metal environment eff ect in the sediments of the East China Sea(ECS) and Yellow Sea(YS), geochemical characteristic and spatial distribution of nine heavy metals and H 2 S profi le were studied. Higher H 2 S content and lower metal content was observed in the sediments 10 cm in depth in the North Yellow Sea and the west coast of South Korea. The pollution load index( I pl) indicates that the southern coast of Shandong Peninsula underwent moderate pollution( I pl =1) of heavy metals and no heavy metal pollution appeared in other areas( I pl 1). To some extents, the ecological risk of Cd and As enrichment was moderately severe in all stations. The chance of heavy metal combination to be toxic in ECS and YS during summer was 21%. In addition, correlation between H 2 S content and metals in both solid and porewater phases was obvious, corroborating important eff ect of H 2 S on metal distribution. Moreover, H 2 S could aff ect the spatial distributions of heavy metals in porewater directly and be indicative of potential biological eff ects of combined toxicant groups in the study region.