Competition Among Dinoflagellate Alexandrium Tamarense, Raphidophyte Heterosigma Carterae and Diatom Skeletonema Costatum under Combinations of Two Temperatures and Five Salinities

INTRODUCTIONFrequentoccurrenceofHAB (HarmfulAlgalBlooms)hasbeenobservedinChinasincethe1 970’s .ThegreatharmtothemarineecosystemandpotentialthreattohumanhealthcausedbyHABhavebecomeamajorconcern .However ,themechanismofHABformationisstillpoorlyunderstood .BothphysicalandchemicalfactorsareconsideredasmaincausesforHABformation ,becauseunderoptimaltemperature ,salinityandnutrientconditions,HABspeciesgrowfastandaremorelikelytoformblooms .Changesintheseenvironmentalfactorsmayleadtoashif…     

Historical deposits of Alexandrium catenella resting cysts in the sediments of Queen Charlotte Sound,New Zealand

In 2011, a large repository of resting cysts of the toxic dinoflagellate Alexandrium catenella was discovered in the sediments of the Onapua/Opua inlet located off Tory Channel, Queen Charlotte Sound. The inlet is a potential source of infection for other areas, such as the major mussel-growing areas of Port Underwood and Pelorus Sound. This study aimed to establish whether the dinoflagellate was a new arrival in the Sounds or had existed unnoticed in this isolated embayment for some time. Alexandrium catenella cysts were identified to a depth of 20–21?cm within the sediment cores, corresponding to a date estimated by radioisotope (²¹⁰Pb and ¹³⁷Cs) and Pinus radiata pollen distribution to at least the mid 1970s. Over this time span, resident populations of A. catenella have not become established beyond the confines of Queen Charlotte Sound, suggesting it does not pose an imminent threat of doing so unless increasingly intense and prolonged blooms result in more widespread cyst dispersal.     

FITC‐conjugated lectins as a tool for differentiating between toxic and non‐toxic marine dinoflagellates

FITC‐conjugated lectins proved to be effective probes for differentiating between morphologically similar dinoflagellate species isolated from New Zealand coastal waters. In particular the binding (fluorescence) of peanut (PNA) lectin differentiated G. mikimotoi from Gymnodinium sp. (Waimangu) and G. pulchellum and the non‐binding of Helix pomatia (HPA) and wheat germ (WGA) lectins discriminated between G. mikimotoi and the other Gymnodinium species tested. G. breve (Florida) was differentiated from the New Zealand isolates by binding with soy bean (SBA) lectin. Ulex europeus (UEA) distinguished the toxic species Alexandrium minutum from the morphologically similar, but non‐toxic, Cachonina hallii. Two strains of Prorocentrum lima (Spain and Rangaunu) were not differentiated by the lectins, but P. lima was differentiated from P. compressum.     

Seasonal Blooms of the HAB Dinoflagellate Alexandrium taylori Balech in a New Mediterranean Area (Vulcano, Aeolian Islands)

Abstract. High-biomass blooms of A. taylori Balech have recently been spreading over new Mediterranean areas, with evident adverse effects on the marine ecosystem. In 1999–2000, a new Mediterranean locality was affected by blooms of A. taylori: the West Bay of Vulcano (Aeolian Islands, Tyrrhenian Sea), with maximum cell densities of 1.2 × 10⁷ cells 1⁻¹ in August 1999 and 4.0 × 10⁶ cells 1⁻¹ in August 2000 observed together with yellowish water discoloration. The seawater samples contained high concentrations of nutrients as DIN (Dissolved Inorganic Nitrogen), especially NH₃-N with values of 14.4 μM and TOT-P (Total Phosphorus) with values of 3.2 μM due to the anthropic presence and discharge of untreated sewage. The climatic conditions also seem to influence the occurrence and spreading of the A. taylori blooms in the Vulcano Bay. Clonal cultures of A. taylori , established from Italian and Spanish seawater samples, were used for the sequence analyses of the 5.8S rDNA gene and ITS regions in order to study the genetic variability of different geographical populations of Alexandrium species in the Mediterranean area and to further develop the molecular markers for HAB key-species.     

塔玛亚历山大藻对罗非鱼肝及鳃组织ATP酶活性的影响

研究了罗非鱼(Tilapia mossambica)腹腔注射塔玛亚历山大藻(Alexandrium tamarense)毒素粗提液对鳃及肝组织的Na^ -K^ -ATPase活性的影响。结果显示低浓度毒素粗提液对罗非鱼鳃及肝组织Na^ -K^ -ATPase有激活作用,高浓度则有抑制作用。     

Study on impact of dinoflagellate Alexandrium tamarense on life activities of marine bivalves

The effects of a PSP producing dinoflagellate Alexandrium tamarense on marine bivalvesat their several important life stages: egg, D- shape larva, eyespot larva, juvenile and adult, were studied. The results show that the hatching, survival, activity, filtration and growth were adversely affected by the alga and the impact was significantly increased with the increase of algal density. The inhibitory effect on egg hatching was most significant, which the hatching rate was only 30% of the control when exposed to the alga at 100 cell/cm3 after 36 h. Further experiments show that the algal culture, re-suspended cells and cell fragments had the inhibitory effect, while no such effect was from the cell-free medium, cell contents and standard STX. The results indicate that the alga could produce unknown toxins, rather than PSP, associated with the cell surface.     

Effects of nitrate and phosphate on growth and C2 toxin productivity of Alexandrium tamarense CI01 in culture

Growth and C2 toxin productivity of a marine dinoflagellate, Alexandrium tamarense CI01 (ATCI01) which predominantly produces C2 toxin, were studied in unialgal batch cultures to optimize the concentrations of nitrate and phosphate for a maximal toxin yield. A range of start concentrations of the two major nutrients was determined in which algal growth was proportional to the nutrient concentrations used. The highest concentrations of nitrate and phosphate in this growth-enhancing range were 264 and 20 μM, respectively. In this concentration range, the C2 toxin yield (μg/l) and cellular toxin content (Qt, fmole per cell) reached a maximum at the lowest end of phosphate (5 μM) and the highest end of nitrate (264 μM). Further increase in the supply of nitrate continued to enhance the toxin yield. Our results indicated that the growth and toxin productivity of this algal strain in batch cultures had distinctly different optimal ranges of nitrate and phosphate concentrations. For a maximum toxin yield, a judicious use of phosphate under a nitrate-replete condition is called for.     

Sensitive and rapid detection of two toxic microalgae Alexandrium by loop-mediated isothermal amplification

A loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) assay was designed and evaluated for rapid detection of the toxic microalgae Alexandrium catenella and A.minutum,which can produce paralytic shellfish poisoning (PSP).Two sets of four specific primers targeting these two species were derived from the sequence of internal transcribed spacer (ITS) of ribosomal DNA.The method worked well in less than an hour under isothermal conditions of 65 C.LAMP specificity was validated in closely related algae as a comparison,suggesting the strict specificity of the LAMP primers.Two visual inspection approaches were feasible to interpret the positive or negative results.The detection limits of A.catenella and A.minutum samples using the LAMP assay were found to be 5.6 and 4.5 pg DNA,respectively.The sensitivity of this LAMP assay was 10 or 100-fold higher than Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) method in detecting the two microalgae.These characteristics of species specificity,sensitivity,and rapidity suggest that this method has the potentiality in the monitoring of red tide caused by A.catenella and A.minutum.     

Effects of nitrate and phosphate on growth and C2 toxin productivity of Alexandrium tamarense CI01 in culture

Growth and C2 toxin productivity of a marine dinoflagellate, Alexandrium tamarense CI01 (ATCI01) which predominantly produces C2 toxin, were studied in unialgal batch cultures to optimize the concentrations of nitrate and phosphate for a maximal toxin yield. A range of start concentrations of the two major nutrients was determined in which algal growth was proportional to the nutrient concentrations used. The highest concentrations of nitrate and phosphate in this growth-enhancing range were 264 and 20 μM, respectively. In this concentration range, the C2 toxin yield (μg/l) and cellular toxin content (Qt, fmole per cell) reached a maximum at the lowest end of phosphate (5 μM) and the highest end of nitrate (264 μM). Further increase in the supply of nitrate continued to enhance the toxin yield. Our results indicated that the growth and toxin productivity of this algal strain in batch cultures had distinctly different optimal ranges of nitrate and phosphate concentrations. For a maximum toxin yield, a judicious use of phosphate under a nitrate-replete condition is called for.