Dinophysis caudata generated lipophilic shellfish toxins in bivalves from the Nanji Islands, East China Sea

A 12-month program of monitoring potentially toxic microalgae(that produce lipophilic shellfi sh toxins; LSTs) and their toxins in bivalves was conducted from April 2006 to March 2007 in the Nanji Islands, East China Sea. Two Dinophysis species, D. caudata and D. acuminata, were identifi ed, and D. caudat a was found to be the dominant species. D. caudata was detected in water samples between April and June 2006, and between February and March 2007. It reached its highest abundances in May, with a mean abundance of 1.38×10 2 cells/L in surface water and 1.25×10 2 cells/L in bottom water(<10 m deep). The temporal distribution of D. caudata was associated with the occurrence of LSTs in bivalve samples, which mostly occurred at the same time as D. caudata blooms, between April and July 2006. All of the cultured bivalves sampled between April and June were contaminated with LSTs, with an average toxicity of 85 μg okadaic acid(OA) eq./100 g meat, which was four times higher than the Chinese regulatory limit(20 μg OA eq./100 g meat). Ten out of fi fteen wild samples(66.7%) collected during the same period were positive for LSTs, and contained an average LST toxicity of 45 μg OA eq./100 g meat(more than twice the regulatory value). Cultured Patinopecten yessoensis collected on 15 May 2006 had the highest toxicity, 320 μg OA eq./100 g meat, and relatively high toxicities(80 to 160 μg OA eq./100 g meat) were found in bivalves until the end of July.

Culture techniques and growth characteristics of Dinophysis acuminata and its prey

The dinoflagellate Dinophysis acurninata Claparede ＆ Lachrnann is a toxic alga that causes diarrhetic shellfish poisoning. No Dinophysis species were maintained in culture for a long period of time until 2006 when Park successfully established D. acuminata in culture using a three-step feeding protocol in which the cryptophyte, Geminigera cryophila, is fed to Myrionecta rubra （=Mesodinium rubrum）, a ciliate that is in turn fed to D. acuminata. In this paper, we present the details of culturing D. acuminata from the Northeastern United States. The protocols described herein can be adopted for laboratory studies of this species. The effects of temperature on the growth and ingestion rates of D. acuminata were also examined. The results show that D. acuminata growth rate was 0.23/d at 10℃ and 0.11/d at 4℃when fed M. rubra prey. The maximum prey ingestion rate was 2.80 Dinophysis cell/d at 10℃, although the rate decreased slightly at 4℃. In overall, temperature showed a greater influence on growth rate of D. acuminata than on the ingestion rate under the study conditions, and the quantity of available food was also an important regulator to D. acurninata growth.