Morphology, toxicity, and phylogeny of Alexandrium (Dinophyceae) species along the coast of China

Gu, Haifeng; Zeng, Ni; Liu, Tingting; Yang, Wei‐Dong; Müller, A. Hermann; Krock, Bernd

doi:10.1016/j.hal.2013.05.008

Cited by 78 publications

(57 citation statements)

References 74 publications

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“…Based on these findings, it was strongly suggested that toxic A. fundyense and A. pacificum should be the major PST producers in the YS. This opinion was also supported by the toxin profile of field samples, which was similar to those of strains of A. fundyense and A. pacificum established from the YS and ECS, which predominantly produce C1/C2 congeners (21,35). The coincidence of the distribution pattern in the representative toxic species, toxic A. tamarense species complex, and PSTs fully supported the sxtA-based qPCR assay as a reliable method to study PST-producing algae in the YS.…”

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confidence: 56%

“…In the YS, cells of both groups I and IV from the species complex have been detected (18,21). Recently, the nomenclature of the species complex was formally revised, and species names were assigned for the 5 groups as A. fundyense (group I), A. mediterraneum (group II), A. tamarense (group III), A. pacificum (group IV), and A. australiense (group V) (25).…”

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confidence: 99%

“…have been reported in the northern YS, East China Sea, and South China Sea (35,36). In the YS, many species in the genus Alexandrium, such as A. fundyense and A. pacificum of the toxic A. tamarense species complex (reported previously as either A. tamarense or A. catenella), A. minutum, and the nontoxic A. affine, A. andersonii, and A. leei species, have been identified through cyst germination, morphological observation, and also single-cell sequencing (21). In addition, cyst beds of Alexandrium species, with abundance as high as 3,788 cysts/g sediment (dry weight), have been reported in the YS (37)(38)(39), where PSTs have been frequently detected in scallops (19,20,40).…”

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confidence: 99%

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High Specificity of a Quantitative PCR Assay Targeting a Saxitoxin Gene for Monitoring Toxic Algae Associated with Paralytic Shellfish Toxins in the Yellow Sea

Gao

Murray

et al. 2015

Appl Environ Microbiol

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The identification of core genes involved in the biosynthesis of saxitoxin (STX) offers a great opportunity to detect toxic algae associated with paralytic shellfish toxins (PST). In the Yellow Sea (YS) in China, both toxic and nontoxic Alexandrium species are present, which makes it a difficult issue to specifically monitor PST-producing toxic algae. In this study, a quantitative PCR (qPCR) assay targeting sxtA4, a domain in the sxt gene cluster that encodes a unique enzyme involved in STX biosynthesis, was applied to analyze samples collected from the YS in spring of 2012. The abundance of two toxic species within the Alexandrium tamarense species complex, i.e., A. fundyense and A. pacificum, was also determined with TaqMan-based qPCR assays, and PSTs in net-concentrated phytoplankton samples were analyzed with high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with a fluorescence detector. It was found that the distribution of the sxtA4 gene in the YS was consistent with the toxic algae and PSTs, and the quantitation results of sxtA4 correlated well with the abundance of the two toxic species (r ‫؍‬ 0.857). These results suggested that the two toxic species were major PST producers during the sampling season and that sxtA-based qPCR is a promising method to detect toxic algae associated with PSTs in the YS. The correlation between PST levels and sxtA-based qPCR results, however, was less significant (r ‫؍‬ 0.552), implying that sxtA-based qPCR is not accurate enough to reflect the toxicity of PSTproducing toxic algae. The combination of an sxtA-based qPCR assay and chemical means might be a promising method for monitoring toxic algal blooms. S axitoxin (STX) and its analogues, commonly known as paralytic shellfish toxins (PSTs), are potent neurotoxic alkaloids (1) synthesized by marine dinoflagellates in the genera Alexandrium, Gymnodinium, and Pyrodinium (2-4) and some cyanobacteria in freshwater (5-7). PSTs ingested by humans via shellfish vectors can reversibly bind to voltage-gated Na ϩ channels and inhibit the flow of sodium ions (1, 8), which leads to paralytic poisoning symptoms, including neurological numbness, tingling and burning of the lips and skin, ataxia, and fever. Severe poisoning may lead to a loss of muscular coordination and respiratory distress, which can be fatal (9).The biosynthetic pathway for STX, a compound with a complex chemical structure, remained a mystery for a long time prior to the identification of the STX synthesis genes in several cyanobacterial species (10). The identification and characterization of this set of core genes involved in STX synthesis provided the possibility of distinguishing the toxic potential of incipient blooms. A variety of genes related to toxin synthesis in cyanobacteria have been applied successfully not only in the detection, differentiation, and quantification of toxic cyanobacteria but also in studies on the regulation of toxin biosynthesis (7,(11)(12)(13)(14). In contrast, the genetic basis for STX production in dinoflagellates remains elusive, due to...

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confidence: 56%

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confidence: 99%

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confidence: 99%

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High Specificity of a Quantitative PCR Assay Targeting a Saxitoxin Gene for Monitoring Toxic Algae Associated with Paralytic Shellfish Toxins in the Yellow Sea

Gao

Murray

et al. 2015

Appl Environ Microbiol

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“…The posterior sulcal plate (s.p) is wider than long ( Figure 1D) 27,28]. Other than Malaysia, Alexandrium andersonii was also been found in the Irish coastal waters [27], Gulf of Naples, Italy [29], Aegean Sea, Greece [26,30] and along the coast of China [31]. …”

Section: Morphology Characterization Of Alexandrium Andersoniimentioning

confidence: 99%

First Report of a Marine Dinoflagellate, Alexandrium Andersonii (Dinophyaceae) in Malaysian Waters

Razali¹,

Chui²,

Hong³

et al. 2016

MJS

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A field survey was carried out at aquaculture areas of Aman Island, Penang to monitor harmful microalgae. In this study, a strain of Alexandrium species was established in laboratory culture and identified using morphological criteria and nucleotide sequences of the LSU rDNA to confirm the identification. The strain was observed under epi-fluorescence microscope and the morphological characters resembled to the species description of A. andersonii. Based on the nucleotide sequences, the strain also revealed close relationship to A. andersonii. HPLC analysis found that A. andersonii was not able to produce paralytic shellfish toxins. This is the first report of A. andersonii found in Malaysian waters. ABSTRAK Kajian lapangan telah dijalankan di kawasan akuakultur Pulau Aman, Pulau Pinang untuk memantau mikroalga berbahaya. Dalam kajian ini, strain spesis Alexandrium telah dikultur di makmal dan pengesahan identifikasi spesis adalah berdasarkan morfologi dan jujukan nukleotida, LSU rDNA. Strain tersebut diperhati di bawah mikroskop epi-pendarfluor dan didapati ciri morfologinya adalah menyerupai spesis

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“…These findings are surprising in the sense that the Alexandrium tamarense species complex typically produces high molar relative amounts of the N-sulfocarbamoyl B-and C-toxins in natural populations and cultured isolates from many regions of the world (Cembella, 1998), including the south Atlantic (Montoya et al, 2010), north Atlantic and North Sea (Brown et al, 2010), south Pacific (Contreras et al, 2012), and the northeastern (Gu et al, 2013a) and northwestern (Cembella et al, 1987) Pacific. This general pattern is also consistent within A. tamarense Group I ribotype strains from the western Arctic (Chukchi Sea), where the N-sulfocarbamoyl toxin C2 dominated, followed by STX and GTX2/ 3, with lesser amounts of GTX1/4 and NEO in decreasing relative molar ratios (Gu et al, 2013b).…”

Section: Psp Toxinsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Bioactive compounds of marine dinoflagellate isolates from western Greenland and their phylogenetic association within the genus Alexandrium

et al. 2016

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Morphology, toxicity, and phylogeny of Alexandrium (Dinophyceae) species along the coast of China

Cited by 78 publications

References 74 publications

High Specificity of a Quantitative PCR Assay Targeting a Saxitoxin Gene for Monitoring Toxic Algae Associated with Paralytic Shellfish Toxins in the Yellow Sea

High Specificity of a Quantitative PCR Assay Targeting a Saxitoxin Gene for Monitoring Toxic Algae Associated with Paralytic Shellfish Toxins in the Yellow Sea

First Report of a Marine Dinoflagellate, Alexandrium Andersonii (Dinophyaceae) in Malaysian Waters

Bioactive compounds of marine dinoflagellate isolates from western Greenland and their phylogenetic association within the genus Alexandrium

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