CRYPTOPERIDINIOPSIS BRODYI GEN. ET SP. NOV. (DINOPHYCEAE), A SMALL LIGHTLY ARMORED DINOFLAGELLATE IN THE PFIESTERIACEAE¹

Abstract

A new genus and species of heterotrophic dinoflagellate, Cryptoperidiniopsis brodyi gen. et sp. nov., are described. This new species commonly occurs in estuaries from Florida to Maryland, and is often associated with Pfiesteria piscicida Steidinger et Burkholder, Pseudopfiesteria shumwayae (Glasgow et Burkholder) Litaker et al., and Karlodinium veneficum (Ballantine) J. Larsen, as well as other small (<20 μm) heterotrophic and mixotrophic dinoflagellates. C. brodyi gen. et sp. nov. feeds myzocytotically on pigmented microalgae and other microorganisms. The genus and species have the enhanced Kofoidian plate formula of Po, cp, X, 5′, 0a, 6″, 6c, PC, 5+s, 5″′, 0p, and 2″″ and are assigned to the order Peridiniales and the family Pfiesteriaceae. Because the Pfiesteriaceae comprise small species and are difficult to differentiate by light microscopy, C. brodyi gen. et sp. nov. can be easily misidentified.

Morphological and molecular genetic characterization of Cryptoperidiniopsis brodyi (Dinophyceae) from Australia-wide isolates

“…Cryptoperidiniopsoid-C and N possess four sulcal plates (Seaborn et al, 2006, p. 3 , Table 3), while C. brodyi has five sulcal plates. However, four genera in the Pfiesteria and PLD group, Pfiesteria, Cryptoperidiniopsis, ''Lucy'' and ''Shepherd's crook'', share the same sulcal plate numbers of 5s (Steidinger et al, 2001(Steidinger et al, , 2006Marshall et al, 2006). Seaborn et al (2006) also reported that the morphological features of Cryptoperidiniopsoid-C and N were the same as that of Cryptoperidiniopsoid sp.…”

“…In the genus Cryptoperidiniopsis, only one species (C. brodyi) has been formally described (Steidinger et al, 2006). Similar plate tabulation features as C. brodyi have also been shown in Cryptoperidiniopsoid-C and N strains (Seaborn et al, 2006), which cluster in the Cryptoperidiniopsis clade but were divergent from C. brodyi (from the U.S.) by 1.2% and 1.5% in SSU rDNA sequences, respectively.…”

“…Cryptoperidiniopsis Steidinger et Litaker was formally described as a new genus in 2006 (Steidinger et al, 2006). The type species C. brodyi superficially resembles Pfiesteria in general appearance under light microscopy, but it is different both genetically and ultrastructurally (Litaker et al, 1999;Steidinger et al, www.elsevier.com/locate/hal Harmful Algae 6 (2007) 718-733 2001).…”

Development of a Real-Time PCR Probe for Quantification of the Heterotrophic Dinoflagellate Cryptoperidiniopsis brodyi (Dinophyceae) in Environmental Samples

“…Similarly low abundances were also shown for Pfiesteria species, which were detected by real-time PCR or PCRfluorescent fragment detection techniques (9,18,42). Zoospore sizes of C. brodyi range from 6 to 11 m in length and from 5 to 10 m in width (38). P. piscicida has been reported to have vegetative cell sizes ranging from 8.5 to 12 m (20).…”

Feeding by protists and copepods on the heterotrophic dinoflagellates Pfiesteria piscicida, Stoeckeria algicida, and Luciella masanensis

“…Since the small heterotrophic dinoflagellate Pfiesteria piscicida (order Peridiniales and family Pfiesteriaceae) was first discovered in the early 1990s (Steidinger et al 1996), several more dinoflagellate species in the family Pfiesteriaceae, such as Cryptoperidiniopsis brodyi, Luciella atlantis, L. masanensis, Pseudopfiesteria shumwayae, and Stoeckeria algicida, have been discovered (Jeong et al 2005b, Litaker et al 2005, Steidinger et al 2006, Mason et al 2007). Both scientists and the public have paid attention to these dinoflagellates because some of the species are harmful to fish , Glasgow et al 2001, shellfish (Springer et al 2002, Shumway et al 2006, and humans (Schmechel & Koltai 2001).…”