赤潮藻毒素生物合成研究进展

Studies on Biosynthesis of Algal Toxins in Red Tide: A Review

合成毒素是赤潮藻类的一个常见特征,已知能够产生毒素的微藻有70多种。作为次级代谢产物,藻毒素的产生可能是一种压制或清除其它藻类竞争者的一种反应,在群落演替、种间竞争中发挥重要作用。目前,人们对藻毒素生物合成机理依然知之甚少,相关基因的研究仍无明显突破。利用环境因子诱导毒素生成变化进而分离差异表达基因或者比较不同产毒藻株间基因表达的差异,从中克隆藻毒素生物合成基因似乎是一种极具潜力的研究方向。

The production of toxin is a feature in red tide. More than 70 species of microalgae produce toxins. As a secondary metabolite, the synthesis of algal toxin may be considered as an inhibition or rejection response to other phytoplanktons in the competition among communities and species. There is little understanding about the synthesis pathway of these toxins because the factors （algal species, sources, environment, conditions, etc.） that affect the production of toxin are complicated. In this review, the following aspects in studies on algae which from red tide are presented： ecological significance of red tide algae producing toxins, factors affecting the production of toxins by algae, possible biochemical pathway of toxin synthesis, and molecular aspects of toxin biosynthesis in study of marine algae.