Molecular characterization and cyst-cell size relationships in the globally distributed yessotoxin producing dinoflagellate Protoceratium reticulatum

• Main Authors: Mertens, Kenneth, Takano, Yoshihito, Matsuoka, Kazumi, Pospelova, Vera, Carbonell-Moore, Consuelo, Andree, Karl, Fernandez, Margarita, Ellegaard, Marianne, Koike, Kazuhiko, Rochon, Andre, Wolny, Jennifer, Vivanco, Ximena, Okolodkov, Yuri, Hoppenrath, Mona, Kremp, Anke, Louwye, Stephen
• Format: Conference Object
• Language: English
• Published: United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC) 2013
• Subjects: Biology and Life Sciences; British Columbia; Canada; Greenland; Laptev Sea; laptev
• Online Access: https://biblio.ugent.be/publication/3198708; http://hdl.handle.net/1854/LU-3198708

Preliminary results of morphological and molecular analysis of the yessotoxin producing dinoflagellate Protoceratium reticulatum (Claparède et Lachmann 1858) Bütschli 1885 are presented. Body size was measured for up to 50 specimens encountered in 34 globally distributed plankton samples. When possible, these measurements were compared to the body diameter of 50 cysts of P. reticulatum extracted from surface sediment at the same locations. The average body length of theca and average body diameter of cyst were found to be significantly correlated (R2= 0.83). A global distribution map of cyst body diameters from 609 surface sediment samples shows that the largest cysts are to be found in South Africa, Chile, British Columbia (Canada), Laptev Sea and southern Greenland. Some of these locations with large cysts coincide with locations where high cell concentrations of P. reticulatum have been recorded, in particular South Africa, Chile and British Columbia. It is therefore possible that strains forming these large cysts and cells might be responsible for toxic outbreaks of this species. We also sequenced some cysts or thecate cells germinated from cysts (LSU, SSU and ITS rDNA). This molecular data reveals that although the LSU and SSU sequences are identical for the sequenced individuals, there are significant differences in the ITS sequences of this species and currently we are reinvestigating cultures to link these molecular differences to morphological variations and toxin production. Samples from Florida and Yucatan contained Protoceratium cf. globosum and no Protoceratium reticulatum.