The dinophycean genus Azadinium and related species – morphological and molecular characterization, biogeography, and toxins

Peer-reviewed.Azaspiracids (AZAs) are the most recently discovered group of lipophilic marine biotoxins of microalgal origin. It took about twelve years from the first human poisoning event until a culprit for AZA production was unambiguously identified and described as a novel species, Azadinium spinosum, within a newly created genus. Since then, knowledge on the genus has increased considerably, and an update on the current circumscription of the genus is presented here including various aspects of morphology, phylogeny, biogeography, and toxin production. There are currently five described species: A. spinosum, A. obesum, A. poporum, A. caudatum, and A. polongum. As indicated by molecular sequence variation detected in field samples, there are probably more species to recognize. Moreover, Amphidoma languida has been described recently, and this species is the closest relative of Azadinium based on both molecular and morphological data. Amphidoma and Azadinium are now grouped in the family Amphidomataceae, which forms an independent lineage among other monophyletic major groups of dinophytes. Initially, azaspiracids have been detected in A. spinosum only, but AZA production within the Amphidomataceae appears complex and diverse: A new type of azaspiracid, with a number of structural variants, has been detected in A. poporum and Amphidoma languida, and AZA-2 has now been detected in Chinese strains of A. poporum

Macroalgal-Associated Dinoflagellates Belonging to the Genus Symbiodinium in Caribbean Reefs

Coral-algal symbiosis has been a subject of great attention during the last two decades in response to global coral reef decline. However, the occurrence and dispersion of free-living dinoflagellates belonging to the genus Symbiodinium are less documented. Here ecological and molecular evidence is presented demonstrating the existence of demersal free-living Symbiodinium populations in Caribbean reefs and the possible role of the stoplight parrotfish (Sparisoma viride) as Symbiodinium spp. dispersers. Communities of free-living Symbiodinium were found within macroalgal beds consisting of Halimeda spp., Lobophora variegata, Amphiroa spp., Caulerpa spp. and Dictyota spp. Viable Symbiodinium spp. cells were isolated and cultured from macroalgal beds and S. viride feces. Further identification of Symbiodinium spp. type was determined by length variation in the Internal Transcribed Spacer 2 (ITS2, nuclear rDNA) and length variation in domain V of the chloroplast large subunit ribosomal DNA (cp23S-rDNA). Determination of free-living Symbiodinium and mechanisms of dispersal is important in understanding the life cycle of Symbiodinium spp

Genome Fragmentation Is Not Confined to the Peridinin Plastid in Dinoflagellates

When plastids are transferred between eukaryote lineages through series of endosymbiosis, their environment changes dramatically. Comparison of dinoflagellate plastids that originated from different algal groups has revealed convergent evolution, suggesting that the host environment mainly influences the evolution of the newly acquired organelle. Recently the genome from the anomalously pigmented dinoflagellate Karlodinium veneficum plastid was uncovered as a conventional chromosome. To determine if this haptophyte-derived plastid contains additional chromosomal fragments that resemble the mini-circles of the peridin-containing plastids, we have investigated its genome by in-depth sequencing using 454 pyrosequencing technology, PCR and clone library analysis. Sequence analyses show several genes with significantly higher copy numbers than present in the chromosome. These genes are most likely extrachromosomal fragments, and the ones with highest copy numbers include genes encoding the chaperone DnaK(Hsp70), the rubisco large subunit (rbcL), and two tRNAs (trnE and trnM). In addition, some photosystem genes such as psaB, psaA, psbB and psbD are overrepresented. Most of the dnaK and rbcL sequences are found as shortened or fragmented gene sequences, typically missing the 3′-terminal portion. Both dnaK and rbcL are associated with a common sequence element consisting of about 120 bp of highly conserved AT-rich sequence followed by a trnE gene, possibly serving as a control region. Decatenation assays and Southern blot analysis indicate that the extrachromosomal plastid sequences do not have the same organization or lengths as the minicircles of the peridinin dinoflagellates. The fragmentation of the haptophyte-derived plastid genome K. veneficum suggests that it is likely a sign of a host-driven process shaping the plastid genomes of dinoflagellates