Molecular taxonomical identification and phylogenetic relationships of some marine dominant algal species during red tide and harmful algal blooms along Egyptian coasts in the Alexandria region

Abstract

Harmful algal blooms (HABs) threaten the aquatic ecosystems due to either poisonous effects on living organisms or oxygen-consuming. So HABs’ accurate identification, including red tide, is crucial. This study aimed to molecular identification of dominant species during tide period in nine stations along Alexandria region at Egyptian costs during one year. Samples were collected weekly before water discoloration but daily during red tide intensive growth from both 50 cm below the surface and 3 m depth over the bottom from the water surface. The red tide detection was highly from early August to half of September, since its highest peak with a maximum frequency inside the Eastern Harbor. The examined cultures samples isolated during red tide had four dominant species. Peroxidase profile showed an expression pattern of three loci (Px1, Px2, and Px3) in most species. The Px2 was the only heterozygous locus among the three loci in all species. Protein profiling showed that 17 bands out of 65 were specific to the species. The phylogenetic relationships derived from profiles of protein and 18S rRNA gene operon sequences for the four isolated species were mostly similar. We identified the four dominant HABs species as Aplanochytrium sp., Chlamydomonas sp., Cryptophyceae sp., and Psammodictyon sp. based on their 18S rRNA sequences and deposited them at DDBJ/EMBL/GenBank database. Aplanochytrium sp. is recorded as a red tide causative species for the first time in the screened region despite belonging to the defunct fungi.