Seasonality and toxin production of Pyrodinium bahamense in a Red Sea lagoon
Type
ArticleAuthors
Banguera Hinestroza, EulaliaEikrem, W.
Mansour, H.
Solberg, Ingrid
Curdia, Joao
Holtermann, Karie Ellen
Edvardsen, B.
Kaartvedt, Stein

KAUST Department
Biological and Environmental Sciences and Engineering (BESE) DivisionMarine Science Program
Office of the VP
Red Sea Research Center (RSRC)
Date
2016-03-19Online Publication Date
2016-03-19Print Publication Date
2016-05Permanent link to this record
http://hdl.handle.net/10754/621782
Metadata
Show full item recordAbstract
Harmful algal blooms of the dinoflagellate Pyrodinium bahamense have caused human and economic losses in the last decades. This study, for the first time, documents a bloom of P. bahamense in the Red Sea. The alga was recurrently present in a semi-enclosed lagoon throughout nearly 2 years of observations. The highest cell densities (104-105 cells L-1) were recorded from September to beginning of December at temperatures and salinities of ~26-32 °C and ~41, respectively. The peak of the bloom was recorded mid-November, before a sharp decrease in cell numbers at the end of December. Minimum concentrations in summer were at ~103 cells L-1. A saxitoxin ELISA immunoassay of cultures and water samples confirmed the toxicity of the strain found in the Red Sea. Moreover, a gene expression analysis of the saxitoxin gene domain SxtA4 showed that transcript production peaked at the culmination of the bloom, suggesting a relation between transcript production, sudden cells increment-decline, and environmental factors. © 2016 Elsevier B.V.Citation
Banguera-Hinestroza E, Eikrem W, Mansour H, Solberg I, Cúrdia J, et al. (2016) Seasonality and toxin production of Pyrodinium bahamense in a Red Sea lagoon. Harmful Algae 55: 163–171. Available: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.hal.2016.03.002.Sponsors
We thank Nikolaos Zarokanellos, Francis Luke Mallon and the CMOR team at Kaust for help and support, Ali R. Behzad and Ohoud Mohammed Eid Alharbi from the Imaging and Characterization lab at Kaust for their invaluable collaboration during the imagining process, and the core lab facilities; specially Sadhasivam Perumal for his valuable support and guide. This study was funded by King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST).[SS]Publisher
Elsevier BVJournal
Harmful Algaeae974a485f413a2113503eed53cd6c53
10.1016/j.hal.2016.03.002