Adding new pieces to the Azadinium (Dinophyceae) diversity and biogeography puzzle: Non-toxigenic Azadinium zhuanum sp. nov. from China, toxigenic A. poporum from the Mediterranean, and a non-toxigenic A. dalianense from the French Atlantic

The marine planktonic dinophyceaen genus Azadinium is a primary source of azaspiracids, but due to their small size its diversity may be underestimated and information on its biogeography is still limited. A new Azadinium species, A. zhuanum was obtained from the East China Sea and Yellow Sea of China by incubating surface sediments. Five strains were established by isolating single germinated cells and their morphology was examined with light microscopy and scanning electron microscopy. Azadinium zhuanum was characterized by a plate pattern of Po, cp, X, 4′, 2a, 6′′, 6C, 5S, 6′′′, 2′′′′, by a distinct ventral pore at the junction of Po, the first and fourth apical plates, and a conspicuous antapical spine. Moreover, Azadinium poporum was obtained for the first time from the Mediterranean by incubating surface sediment collected from Diana Lagoon (Corsica) and a new strain of Azadinium dalianense was isolated from the French Atlantic. The morphology of both strains was examined. Small subunit ribosomal DNA (SSU rDNA), large subunit ribosomal DNA (LSU rDNA) and internal transcribed spacer (ITS) sequences were obtained from cultured strains. In addition, LSU sequences were obtained by single cell sequencing of two presumable A. poporum cells collected from the French Atlantic. Molecular phylogeny based on concatenated SSU, LSU and ITS sequences revealed that A. zhuanum was closest to A. polongum. French A. poporum from Corsica (Mediterranean) and from the Atlantic showed some genetic differences but were nested within one of the A. poporum ribotypes together with other European strains. Azadinium dalianense from France together with the type strain of the species from China comprised a well resolved clade now consisting of two ribotypes. Azaspiracid profiles were analyzed for the cultured Azadinium strains using LC–MS/MS and demonstrate that the Mediterranean A. poporum strain produced AZA-2 and AZA-2 phosphate with an amount of 0.44 fg cell−1. Azadinium zhuanum and A. dalianense did not produce detectable AZA. Results of the present study support the view of a high diversity and wide distribution of species belonging to Azadinium. The first record of AZA-2 producing A. poporum from the Mediterranean suggests that this species may be responsible for azaspiracid contaminations in shellfish from the Mediterranean Sea

Ciguatoxin occurrence in food-web components of a Cuban Coral Reef Ecosystem: Risk-assessment implications

In Cuba, ciguatera poisoning associated with fish consumption is the most commonly occurring non-bacterial seafood-borne illness. Risk management through fish market regulation has existed in Cuba for decades and consists of bans on selected species above a certain weight; however, the actual occurrence of ciguatoxins (CTXs) in seafood has never been verified. From this food safety risk management perspective, a study site locally known to be at risk for ciguatera was selected. Analysis of the epiphytic dinoflagellate community identified the microalga Gambierdiscus. Gambierdiscus species included six of the seven species known to be present in Cuba (G. caribaeus, G. belizeanus, G. carpenteri, G. carolinianus, G. silvae, and F. ruetzleri). CTX-like activity in invertebrates, herbivorous and carnivorous fishes were analyzed with a radioligand receptor-binding assay and, for selected samples, with the N2A cell cytotoxicity assay. CTX activity was found in 80% of the organisms sampled, with toxin values ranging from 2 to 8 ng CTX3C equivalents g−1 tissue. Data analysis further confirmed CTXs trophic magnification. This study constitutes the first finding of CTX-like activity in marine organisms in Cuba and in herbivorous fish in the Caribbean. Elucidating the structure–activity relationship and toxicology of CTX from the Caribbean is needed before conclusions may be drawn about risk exposure in Cuba and the wider Caribbean.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Laciniporus arabicus gen. et sp. nov. (Dinophyceae, Peridiniales), a new thecate, marine, sand-dwelling dinoflagellate from the northern Indian Ocean (Arabian Sea)

A new thecate, photosynthetic, sand‐dwelling marine dinoflagellate, Laciniporus arabicus gen. et sp. nov., is described from the subtidal sediments of the Omani coast in the Arabian Sea, northern Indian Ocean, based on detailed morphological and molecular data. Cells of L. arabicus are small (16.2‐30.1 μm long and 13.1‐23.2 μm wide), dorsoventrally compressed, with a small apical flap‐shaped projection pointing to the left. The thecal plate pattern is distinguished by minute first precingular plate and sulcus, which extends into the epitheca, with large anterior and right sulcal plates. The Kofoidian thecal tabulation is Po, X, 4′, 2a, 7′′, 6c, 6s, 5′′′, 2′′′′. Morphologically, the revealed plate pattern has an affinity to the Peridiniales, and LSU rDNA based phylogenetic analyses placed L. arabicus within the Thoracosphaeraceae, close to calcareous‐cyst producing scrippsielloids, predatory pfiesteriaceans, and photosynthetic freshwater peridinioids Chimonodinium lomnickii and Apocalathium spp. However, the thecal plate arrangement of L. arabicus differs noticeably from any currently described dinoflagellates, and the species stands out from closely related taxa by extensive differences in physiology and ecology

Laciniporus arabicus gen. et sp. nov. (Dinophyceae, Peridiniales), a new thecate, marine, sand-dwelling dinoflagellate from the northern Indian Ocean (Arabian Sea)

A new thecate, photosynthetic, sand‐dwelling marine dinoflagellate, Laciniporus arabicus gen. et sp. nov., is described from the subtidal sediments of the Omani coast in the Arabian Sea, northern Indian Ocean, based on detailed morphological and molecular data. Cells of L. arabicus are small (16.2‐30.1 μm long and 13.1‐23.2 μm wide), dorsoventrally compressed, with a small apical flap‐shaped projection pointing to the left. The thecal plate pattern is distinguished by minute first precingular plate and sulcus, which extends into the epitheca, with large anterior and right sulcal plates. The Kofoidian thecal tabulation is Po, X, 4′, 2a, 7′′, 6c, 6s, 5′′′, 2′′′′. Morphologically, the revealed plate pattern has an affinity to the Peridiniales, and LSU rDNA based phylogenetic analyses placed L. arabicus within the Thoracosphaeraceae, close to calcareous‐cyst producing scrippsielloids, predatory pfiesteriaceans, and photosynthetic freshwater peridinioids Chimonodinium lomnickii and Apocalathium spp. However, the thecal plate arrangement of L. arabicus differs noticeably from any currently described dinoflagellates, and the species stands out from closely related taxa by extensive differences in physiology and ecology

A taxonomical study of benthic Prorocentrum species (Prorocentrales, Dinophyceae) from Anse Dufour (Martinique Island, eastern Caribbean Sea)

About 30 benthic Prorocentrum species have been described, some of which producing okadaic acid and derivatives involved in diarrhetic shellfish poisoning. The western Caribbean has been extensively studied for benthic dinoflagellates associated with ciguatera, and fifteen Prorocentrum species were described from mangroves and coral reefs of Belize. In contrast, no study reported the diversity of this genus in the Eastern Caribbean, especially in the Lesser Antilles. This study adds to the biodiversity knowledge in Martinique Island by investigating one site of the Caribbean coast from 2010 to 2017. Sediment samples were collected each year in March and studied taxonomically. Identification was realized morphologically by scanning electron microscopy, while the partial large subunit (LSU) ribosomal DNA was sequenced for 42 isolated specimens (single-cells) and one strain in culture. A molecular phylogenetic analysis revealed 11 OTUs from Martinique, identified morphologically as P. concavum, P. cf. foraminosum, P. cf. tropicale, P. lima, P. hoffmannianum, P. cf. norrisianum, P. glenanicum, P. panamense, P. cf. sculptile, P. cf. fukuyoi, and P. rhathymum. Two morphospecies were also identified (P. cf. maculosum and P. cf. ruetzlerianum) but with no sequence obtained. Some species like P. cf. tropicale and P. cf. norrisinamum are sequenced for the first time. Our analysis reveals probable former misidentifications of P. cf. foraminosum and P. cf. sculptile since the sequences from Martinique form new clades and their geographical origin are closer from the type locality than any other previous studies. Further studies and sequences from the type localities are yet required to assess identifications

Taxonomic characterization of a brackish water, bloom-forming Peridiniopsis species (Peridiniales, Dinophyceae) from Iraq

Background The occurrence of a small brackish water bloom-forming dinoflagellate belonging to the genus Peridiniopsis is reported for the first time from the Shatt Al-Arab River in Iraq. Based on the study of cell morphology, this taxon was attributed to the recently described Peridiniopsis minima, recorded so far only from the Jiulongjiang River, China. Results The description of P. minima was extended to include some previously unreported details of the thecal surface, apical pore complex, and sulcus structure using light and scanning electron microscopy. Cells of this species from Iraq were oval to rhombic in shape and slightly dorso-ventrally compressed, with distinct red eyespot and endosymbiont nucleus. Cells were covered by a thin theca with the Kofoidian plate formula Po, X, 3′, 1a, 6″, 5c, 5 s, 5′′′, 2′′′′. Complementing the original description of the species, five plates were discerned in the composition of the sulcal area, and the presence of small median sulcal plate was confirmed. Conclusion The finding of P. minima in the waters of Shatt Al-Arab River represents a new addition to the Iraqi aquatic microflora. Our observations of this dinoflagellate in brackish waters of the Shatt Al-Arab River system extend the known range of salinity tolerance for this species

First insights on the diversity of the genus Ostreopsis (Dinophyceae, Gonyaulacales) in Guadeloupe Island, with emphasis on the phylogenetic position of O. heptagona

The present study aims to identify epiphytic Ostreopsis cells collected in Guadeloupe between 2017 and 2018 using a morpho-molecular approach. This method combined microscopical observations of wild specimens (light and scanning electron microscopy) with a phylogenetic analysis inferred from concatenated sequences of ribosomal operon (SSU + ITS + LSU) of Ostreopsidoideae. Four distinct morphotypes were identified in our samples and studied by SEM. Molecular data obtained from single-cell PCR for the four morphotypes were consistent with observations and confirmed the presence of three Ostreopsis species resolved in well characterized genotypes (O. cf. ovata, O. lenticularis and O. siamensis) and an unidentified clade. Detailed morphological characters including sulcal plates confirmed the identification of the last morphotype as O. heptagona D.R.Norris, J.W.Bomber & Balech, which forms a new basal clade in the genus, not previously reported. Observations highlighted overlapping sizes for O. lenticularis, O. siamensis and O. heptagona. Direct sequencing of PCR products obtained for some O. lenticularis and O. heptagona collected at one site revealed unexpectedly the presence of the parasitoid dinoflagellate Amoebophrya. Some Ostreopsis cells were found partially emptied and exhibiting a compact mass. Further analyses are needed to understand the ecological role of Amoebophrya on blooms of epiphytic Ostreopsis species

Morphology and molecular phylogeny of Prorocentrum consutum sp. nov. (Dinophycae), a new benthic dinoflagellate from South Brittany (Northwestern France)

International audienceA new marine benthic Prorocentrum species from sandy habitats of South Brittany (northwestern France), P. consutum sp. nov., is described using LM and SEM and molecular phylogenetic analyses. Cells have a subcircular to broadly ovoid shape and are plainly flattened. They are 57–61 μm long and 52–55 μm wide. A central pyrenoid is present, and the kidney-shaped nucleus is positioned in the posterior region. In right valve view, the periflagellar area is deeply excavated, and the left valve forms a prominent apical ridge. The periflagellar area consists of nine platelets, and a small narrow collar is present around the flagellar pore. The ornamentation of this new species is very peculiar and is characterized by a ring of round areolae located at the periphery of the valves, each areola containing three or four pores. Apart from this ring of areolae, the cell surface is smooth and with scattered pores. Pores are not present in the center of the right or left valve. The intercalary band is generally narrow and faintly striated horizontally. The molecular phylogenetic position of P. consutum sp. nov. was inferred using SSU and LSU rDNA. In both analyses, this species branched with high support in the clade comprising species with a symmetric shape and appeared to be a sister group to that formed by P. lima and other tropical benthic species, such as P. arenarium, P. belizeanum, P. hoffmannianum, and P. maculosu

Distribution of potentially toxic epiphytic dinoflagellates in Saint Martin Island (Caribbean Sea, Lesser Antilles)

International audienceFor the first time, distribution of epiphytic dinoflagellates was studied in Saint Martin Island (Lesser Antilles) during the cyclonic season (between September 1 st and 3 rd 2015). The present study provides a semi-quantitative analysis because the fresh weight of each macrophyte was estimated around 10 g. The identified genera were: Ostreopsis, Prorocentrum, Coolia, Amphidinium, and Gambierdiscus in order of decreasing abundance. Highest average abundance values of the genera Ostreopsis and Amphidinium were hosted by macrophytes of the Phaeophyceae group with ca. 15,000 and 60 cells g-1 respectively. Epiphytic Coolia cells were mainly observed on seagrasses with the highest average abundance value of ca. 1000 cells g-1 whereas the genera Gambierdiscus and Prorocentrum were principally associated with Florideophyceae with the highest average abundances of ca. 70 and 1500 cells g FW-1 respectively. This preliminary study indicates the most relevant locations to survey the biodiversity of potentially toxic epiphytic dinoflagellates in Saint Martin Island