Enhanced UV-B(280-320 nm) radiation resulting from ozone depletion is one of global environmental problems. Not only marine organisms but also marine ecosystems can be affected by enhanced UV-B radiation. The effects ...Enhanced UV-B(280-320 nm) radiation resulting from ozone depletion is one of global environmental problems. Not only marine organisms but also marine ecosystems can be affected by enhanced UV-B radiation. The effects of UV-B radiation on interaction of macro-algae and micro-algae were investigated using Ulva pertusa Kjellman and Alexandrium tamarense as the materials in this study. The results demonstrated that UV-B radiation could inhibit the growth of Ulva pertusa and Alexandrium tamarense when they were both mono-cultured, and the growth inhibition of algae was more significant with increasing doses of UV-B radiation. Alexandrium tamarense could inhibit the growth of Ulva pertusa in mixed culture, and the growth inhibition was more significant when increasing the initial cell density. However, Ulva pertusa could inhibit the growth of Alexandrium tamarense in early phase and stimulate the growth in latter phase when they were grown in mixed culture. Lower initial cell density(10~2 cell/ml) of Alexandrium tamarense could inhibit the growth of Ulva pertusa under UV-B radiation treatment,however, with the initial cell density increasing(10~3 and 10~4 cell/ml), the growth of Ulva pertusa was stimulated under lower dose of UV-B radiation and inhibited under higher dose of UV-B radiation by Alexandrium tamarense. Compared with that in mixed culture, Ulva pertusa showed more positive inhibition to the growth of Alexandrium tamarense under UV-B radiation treatment.展开更多
Paralytic shellfish poisoning (PSP) toxins are potent neurotoxins mainly produced by dinoflagellates and being concentrated in bivalves through food web transfer. Increasing number of findings of toxin-producing bacte...Paralytic shellfish poisoning (PSP) toxins are potent neurotoxins mainly produced by dinoflagellates and being concentrated in bivalves through food web transfer. Increasing number of findings of toxin-producing bacteria in the cells of dinoflagellate such as Alexandriumtamarense supports the hypothesis of the bacterial origin of PSP toxins. Evidence that there are specific symbiosis bacterial taxa associated with the phytoplankton indicates the presence of specific selective mechanisms between them, and implies that the symbiosis bacteria have some vital function to the benefit of the dinoflagellates. Studies on the role of toxin-producing symbiosis bacteria in the marine ecosystem are considered to be becoming more important. Although toxigenic bacteria could be isolated from toxic dinoflagellates, it was not clearly proven whether the isolated bacterial strains based on culture-dependent manner and the corresponding intracellular bacteria were the same because of microbial unculturability. This paper aims to demonstrate the biodiversity of the symbiotic bacteria associated with toxic dinoflagellate A. tamarense using the culture-indepen- dent high-throughput pyrosequencing method, as well as the phylogenetic analysis based on 16S rDNA sequences of the symbiotic cultivable bacteria strains isolated from toxic Alexander tamarense.展开更多
Objective Impact of the presence of bacteria associated with a marine dinoflagellate, Alexandrium tamarense CI01, on the growth and toxin production of the algae in batch culture was investigated. Methods Pronounced c...Objective Impact of the presence of bacteria associated with a marine dinoflagellate, Alexandrium tamarense CI01, on the growth and toxin production of the algae in batch culture was investigated. Methods Pronounced changes in the activities of the algal culture were observed when the culture was treated with different doses of a mixture of penicillin and streptomycin. Results In the presence of antibiotics at the initial concentration of 100 u/mL in culture medium, both algal growth and toxin yield increased markedly. When the concentration of antibiotics was increased to 500 u/mL, the microalgal growth was inhibited, but resumed in a few days to eventually reach the same level of growth and toxin production as at the lower dose of the antibiotics. When the antibiotics were present at a concentration of 1 000 u/mL, the algal growth was inhibited permanently. Conclusions The results indicate that antibiotics can enhance algal growth and toxin production not only through their inhibition of the growth and hence competition for nutrients, but also through their effects on the physiology of the algae.展开更多
The effects of a PSP producing dinoflagellate Alexandrium tamarense on marine bivalvesat their several important life stages: egg, D- shape larva, eyespot larva, juvenile and adult, were studied. The results show that...The effects of a PSP producing dinoflagellate Alexandrium tamarense on marine bivalvesat their several important life stages: egg, D- shape larva, eyespot larva, juvenile and adult, were studied. The results show that the hatching, survival, activity, filtration and growth were adversely affected by the alga and the impact was significantly increased with the increase of algal density. The inhibitory effect on egg hatching was most significant, which the hatching rate was only 30% of the control when exposed to the alga at 100 cell/cm3 after 36 h. Further experiments show that the algal culture, re-suspended cells and cell fragments had the inhibitory effect, while no such effect was from the cell-free medium, cell contents and standard STX. The results indicate that the alga could produce unknown toxins, rather than PSP, associated with the cell surface.展开更多
The relationship between Alexandrium tamarense （Lebour） Balech, one of red-tide alga, and two strains of marine bacteria, Bacillius megaterium（S7 ） and B. halmapulus（ S10 ） isolated from Xiamen Western Sea, was ...The relationship between Alexandrium tamarense （Lebour） Balech, one of red-tide alga, and two strains of marine bacteria, Bacillius megaterium（S7 ） and B. halmapulus（ S10 ） isolated from Xiamen Western Sea, was investigated by evaluating the growth state of A. tamarense and the variation of β-glucosidase activity in co-culture system. The results showed the growth and multiplication of the alga were related with the concentration, genus speciality of the bacteria, and growth stage of the alga itself. The growth of A. tamarense was obviously inhibited by S7 and S10 at high concentration. Either inhibition or promotion contributed much more clearly in earlier than in later stageof the growth of the alga. Furthermore, there was a roughly similar variation trend of the activity of extra-cellular enzyme, β- glucosidase, in the water of the separately co-cultured bacteria S7 and S10 with the alga. The β-glucosidase activity（β-GlcA） rapidly increased during the later algal growth accompanying the increase of the lysis of the alga cells. The obvious inhibition of A. tamarense by marine bacteria at high concentration and evident increase of β-GlcA in co-colture system would help us in better understanding the relationship between red-tide alga and bacteria, and also enlightened us the possible use of bacteria in the bio-control of red-tide.展开更多
We investigated the allelopathic properties of Alexandrium tamarense(Laboar) Balech on the growth of Prorocentrum donghaiense Lu,Chattonella marina(Subrahmanyan) Hara et Chihara and Heterosigma akashiwo(Hada) Hada in ...We investigated the allelopathic properties of Alexandrium tamarense(Laboar) Balech on the growth of Prorocentrum donghaiense Lu,Chattonella marina(Subrahmanyan) Hara et Chihara and Heterosigma akashiwo(Hada) Hada in a laboratory experiment.We examined the growth of A.tamarense,C.marina,P.donghaiense and H.Akashiwo in co-cultures and the effect of filtrates from A.tamarense cultures in various growth phases,on the three harmful algal bloom(HAB)-forming algae.In co-cultures with A.tamarense,both C.marina and H.akashiwo were dramatically suppressed at high cell densities;in contrast,the growth of P.donghaiense varied in different inoculative ratios of A.tamarense and P.donghaiense.When the ratio was 1:1(P.donghaiense:A.tamarense),growth of P.donghaiense was inhibited considerably,while the growth of P.donghaiense was almost the same as that of the control when the ratio was 9:1.The growth difference of P.donghaiense,C.marina and H.akashiwo when co-cultured with A.tamarense indicated that the allelopathic effect may be one of the important factors in algal competition and phytoplankton succession involving A.tamarense.In addition,the filtrate from A.tamarense culture had negative impacts on these three HAB algae,and such inhibition varied with different growth phases of A.tamarense in parallel with reported values of PSP toxin content in Alexandrium cells.This implied that PSP toxin was possibly involved in allelopathy of A.tamarense.However,the rapid decomposition and inactivation of PSP toxin above pH7 weakened this possibility.Further studies on the allelochemicals responsible for the allelopathy of A.tamarense need to be carried out in future.展开更多
This study investigated the inductive effect ofAlexandrium tamarense, a toxic dinoflagellate producing paralytic shell- fish poison, on oxidative stress and apoptosis in hepatopancreas of Chinese shrimp, Fenneropenaeu...This study investigated the inductive effect ofAlexandrium tamarense, a toxic dinoflagellate producing paralytic shell- fish poison, on oxidative stress and apoptosis in hepatopancreas of Chinese shrimp, Fenneropenaeus chinensis. The individuals of E chinensis were exposed to 200 and 1000 cells mL-1 of A. tamarense with their superoxide dismutase （SOD）, glutathione S-transferase （GST） activities, malonyldialdehyde （MDA） concentration, and caspase gene （FcCasp） expression in hepatopancreas determined at 12, 24, 48, 72 and 96 h. In addition, apoptosis in hepatopancreas of E chinensis at 96 h after exposure was determined through terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated dUTP nick end labeling （TUNEL） assay. The hepatopancreatic SOD and GST activities of F. chinensis exposed to 1000 cells mL-1 ofA. tamarense showed a bell-shaped response to exposure time. The hepatopancreatic MDA concentration ofF. chinensis exposed to 1000 cellsmL-1 ofA. tamarense increased gradually from 48 to 96h, and such a trend corresponded to the decrease of GST activity. The hepatopancreatic FcCasp transcript abundance of F. chinensis exposed to 1000 cells mL-1 ofA. tamarense was positively and linearly correlated to MDA concentration. Results of TUNEL assay showed that exposure to 1000 cells mL-1 of A. tamarense induced apoptosis in the hepatopancreas of E chinensis. Our study revealed that A. tamarense exposure influenced the antioxidative status ofF. chinensis and caused lipid peroxidation and apoptosis in the hepatopancreas of shrimp.展开更多
Competition among HAB (Harmful Algal Bloom) species Dinoflagellate Alexandrium tamarense , Raphidophyte Heterosigma carterae , and Diatom Skeletonema costatum was studied in the laboratory. Experiments with these thre...Competition among HAB (Harmful Algal Bloom) species Dinoflagellate Alexandrium tamarense , Raphidophyte Heterosigma carterae , and Diatom Skeletonema costatum was studied in the laboratory. Experiments with these three major HAB species under combinations of different salinities (10, 18, 25, 30, 35) and temperatures (19℃, 25℃) were carried out. The results showed that S. costatum successfully competed with the other two species at salinities of 18, 25, 30, and 35 at temperatures of 19℃ and 25℃. However, H. carterae showed its advantage at low salinity of 10 and became the single dominant species at salinity 10 and 25℃. A. tamarense could not compete successfully with the other two species especially at low salinities. However, it could remain at low density in the presence of higher densities of other algae.展开更多
The PSP toxicity of Alexandrium tamarense （Lebour） Balech on the blue mussel （Mytilus edulis） from the western waters of Xiamen in China was studied by following the standard method of PSP mouse bioassay developed...The PSP toxicity of Alexandrium tamarense （Lebour） Balech on the blue mussel （Mytilus edulis） from the western waters of Xiamen in China was studied by following the standard method of PSP mouse bioassay developed by the Association of Official Analytical Chemists （ AOAC ）. The results showed that the mice survived when the density of A. tamarense cells was lower than 1×10^5 cells per cubic decimetre and died when the density was higher than 1×10^6 cells per cubic decimetre. The past record of red tide events in the western waters of Xiamen showed a general trend of starting from the bloom of non-toxic planktonic diatoms in local waters and resulting in a harmful algal bloom due to the fade of planktonic diatoms which failed in the survival competition in the unfavorable and deteriorated eco-environment. On the basis of experimental results and natural environment of Xiamen waters and by making reference to the critical criteria of shellfish toxins in various states, a prewarning value 1×10^5 cells per cubic decimetre of A. tamarense PSP toxicity was proposed for the areas in South China where red tides frequently occur.展开更多
Sulfotransferase （ST） is the first enzyme discovered in association with paralytic shellfish poisoning （PSP） toxin biosynthesis in toxic dinoflagellates. This study investigates the ST activity m crude enzyme extr...Sulfotransferase （ST） is the first enzyme discovered in association with paralytic shellfish poisoning （PSP） toxin biosynthesis in toxic dinoflagellates. This study investigates the ST activity m crude enzyme extraction of a toxic dinoflagellate species, Alexandrium tamarense CI01. The results show that crude enzyme can transfer a sulfate group from 3＇-phosphoadenosine 5＇-phosphosulfate （PAPS） to N-21 in the carbamoyl group of gonyautoxin 2/3 （GTX2/3） to produce C 1/C2, but is inactive toward STX to produce GTX5. The crude enzyme is optimally active at pH 6.0 and 15℃. The activity is enhanced by Co^2＋, Mg^2＋, Mn^2＋ and Ca^2＋ individually, but is inhibited by Cu^2＋. Moreover, the activity shows no difference when various sulfur compounds are used as sulfate donors. These results demonstrate that the ST specific to GTX2/3 is present in the cells of A. tamarense CI01 and is involved in PSP toxin biosynthesis. In addition, the ST from different dinoflagellates is species-specific, which explains well the various biosynthesis pathways of the PSP toxins in toxic dinoflagellates.展开更多
Harmful algal blooms （HABs） have been affecting negatively the shellfish and aquaculture industries around the world. Though a lot of efforts have been made to disclose the changes of environmental factors involved ...Harmful algal blooms （HABs） have been affecting negatively the shellfish and aquaculture industries around the world. Though a lot of efforts have been made to disclose the changes of environmental factors involved and their effects on the HABs events, the molecular mechanism of this process remains unclear. To address this problem, proliferating cell nuclear antigen gene （pcna） was isolated and characterized from Alexandrium catenella. It showed high homology to those of other dinoflagellates （89% and 91% homology to Pfiesteria piscicid and Pyrocystis lunula, respectively）, and also 42%–43% homology to those of plant and animals. The expression level of pcna revealed by quantitative real time PCR was the lowest at the late lagging cell growth phase, increased to the highest at the late exponential phase, and then decreased at the stationary phase. Though the cell growth rate was also changing, no positive correlation between pcna expression level and cell growth rate was displayed throughout the whole cell growth stages （r 2 =0.024 6）. However, the pcna expression level had the similar trend with the change of cell growth rate throughout the whole growing process, e.g., from increasing at the earlier cell growth stage to decreasing at the following stages, though slightly lagging to the latter.展开更多
Flow cytometry(FCM) technique has been widely applied to estimating the genome size of various higher plants. However, there is few report about its application in algae. In this study, an optimized procedure of FCM w...Flow cytometry(FCM) technique has been widely applied to estimating the genome size of various higher plants. However, there is few report about its application in algae. In this study, an optimized procedure of FCM was exploited to estimate the genome size of two eukaryotic algae. For analyzing Alexandrium catenella, an important red tide species, the whole cell instead of isolated nucleus was studied, and chicken erythrocytes were used as an internal reference. The genome size of A. catenella was estimated to be 56.48 ± 4.14 Gb(1C), approximately nineteen times larger than that of human genome. For analyzing Gracilariopsis lemaneiformis, an important economical red alga, the purified nucleus was employed, and Arabidopsis thaliana and Chondrus crispus were used as internal references, respectively. The genome size of Gp. lemaneiformis was 97.35 ± 2.58 Mb(1C) and 112.73 ± 14.00 Mb(1C), respectively, depending on the different internal references. The results of this research will promote the related studies on the genomics and evolution of these two species.展开更多
Harmful algal blooms （HABs） can occur and then disappear quickly, corresponding to consistent growing and declining of heavy biomasses. The molecular mechanism of blooming remains unclear. In this study, calmodulin ...Harmful algal blooms （HABs） can occur and then disappear quickly, corresponding to consistent growing and declining of heavy biomasses. The molecular mechanism of blooming remains unclear. In this study, calmodulin gene （cam） of HAB causing species Alexandrium catenella was isolated and characterized, The expression of calmodulin gene was profiled at different growth rates and in heat stress. The full cDNA of cam was 597 nucleotides （nt） in length, including a 25 nt 5＇ untranslated region （UTR）, an 122nt 3＇ UTR, and a 450nt open reading frame （ORF） encoding 149 amino acids. The deduced calmodulin （CAM） was highly conserved in comparison with those of other organisms. As was determined with real-time RT PCR, the abundance of cam transcript varied in a pattern similar to cell growth rate during the whole growing period. The abundance of cam transcript increased by more than 8 folds from lag growth phase to exponential growth phase, and then obviously decreased from exponential growth phase to stationary/decline growth phase. In addition, the relative abundance of cam transcript significantly declined with time during heat shock. Taking CaM function described in other organisms into account, we believe that Ca2- -involved signal transduction, methyla- tion of DNA and toxin precursors underlined the cell growth of this species. The response of cam gene to heat stress in dinoflagellate suggested restrictions in Ca2＋ signal transduction and methylation. These findings are helpful to understand the relationships among growth, cell signal transduction, bloom formation and interaction with environmental stimuli in dinoflagellates.展开更多
文摘Enhanced UV-B(280-320 nm) radiation resulting from ozone depletion is one of global environmental problems. Not only marine organisms but also marine ecosystems can be affected by enhanced UV-B radiation. The effects of UV-B radiation on interaction of macro-algae and micro-algae were investigated using Ulva pertusa Kjellman and Alexandrium tamarense as the materials in this study. The results demonstrated that UV-B radiation could inhibit the growth of Ulva pertusa and Alexandrium tamarense when they were both mono-cultured, and the growth inhibition of algae was more significant with increasing doses of UV-B radiation. Alexandrium tamarense could inhibit the growth of Ulva pertusa in mixed culture, and the growth inhibition was more significant when increasing the initial cell density. However, Ulva pertusa could inhibit the growth of Alexandrium tamarense in early phase and stimulate the growth in latter phase when they were grown in mixed culture. Lower initial cell density(10~2 cell/ml) of Alexandrium tamarense could inhibit the growth of Ulva pertusa under UV-B radiation treatment,however, with the initial cell density increasing(10~3 and 10~4 cell/ml), the growth of Ulva pertusa was stimulated under lower dose of UV-B radiation and inhibited under higher dose of UV-B radiation by Alexandrium tamarense. Compared with that in mixed culture, Ulva pertusa showed more positive inhibition to the growth of Alexandrium tamarense under UV-B radiation treatment.
文摘Paralytic shellfish poisoning (PSP) toxins are potent neurotoxins mainly produced by dinoflagellates and being concentrated in bivalves through food web transfer. Increasing number of findings of toxin-producing bacteria in the cells of dinoflagellate such as Alexandriumtamarense supports the hypothesis of the bacterial origin of PSP toxins. Evidence that there are specific symbiosis bacterial taxa associated with the phytoplankton indicates the presence of specific selective mechanisms between them, and implies that the symbiosis bacteria have some vital function to the benefit of the dinoflagellates. Studies on the role of toxin-producing symbiosis bacteria in the marine ecosystem are considered to be becoming more important. Although toxigenic bacteria could be isolated from toxic dinoflagellates, it was not clearly proven whether the isolated bacterial strains based on culture-dependent manner and the corresponding intracellular bacteria were the same because of microbial unculturability. This paper aims to demonstrate the biodiversity of the symbiotic bacteria associated with toxic dinoflagellate A. tamarense using the culture-indepen- dent high-throughput pyrosequencing method, as well as the phylogenetic analysis based on 16S rDNA sequences of the symbiotic cultivable bacteria strains isolated from toxic Alexander tamarense.
基金This study was supported by the key project of the National 10th Five-Year Plan Programthe research project title was research and development of red tide microalgal toxin (2001BA707B03)
文摘Objective Impact of the presence of bacteria associated with a marine dinoflagellate, Alexandrium tamarense CI01, on the growth and toxin production of the algae in batch culture was investigated. Methods Pronounced changes in the activities of the algal culture were observed when the culture was treated with different doses of a mixture of penicillin and streptomycin. Results In the presence of antibiotics at the initial concentration of 100 u/mL in culture medium, both algal growth and toxin yield increased markedly. When the concentration of antibiotics was increased to 500 u/mL, the microalgal growth was inhibited, but resumed in a few days to eventually reach the same level of growth and toxin production as at the lower dose of the antibiotics. When the antibiotics were present at a concentration of 1 000 u/mL, the algal growth was inhibited permanently. Conclusions The results indicate that antibiotics can enhance algal growth and toxin production not only through their inhibition of the growth and hence competition for nutrients, but also through their effects on the physiology of the algae.
基金This study was supported by the National Basic Research Project under contract No.2001CB409709,National Natural Science Foundation of China under contract Nos 49906007,39950001,20177023 and 40076030,CAS Innovation Program under contract No.KZCX2-206,Dire
文摘The effects of a PSP producing dinoflagellate Alexandrium tamarense on marine bivalvesat their several important life stages: egg, D- shape larva, eyespot larva, juvenile and adult, were studied. The results show that the hatching, survival, activity, filtration and growth were adversely affected by the alga and the impact was significantly increased with the increase of algal density. The inhibitory effect on egg hatching was most significant, which the hatching rate was only 30% of the control when exposed to the alga at 100 cell/cm3 after 36 h. Further experiments show that the algal culture, re-suspended cells and cell fragments had the inhibitory effect, while no such effect was from the cell-free medium, cell contents and standard STX. The results indicate that the alga could produce unknown toxins, rather than PSP, associated with the cell surface.
文摘The relationship between Alexandrium tamarense （Lebour） Balech, one of red-tide alga, and two strains of marine bacteria, Bacillius megaterium（S7 ） and B. halmapulus（ S10 ） isolated from Xiamen Western Sea, was investigated by evaluating the growth state of A. tamarense and the variation of β-glucosidase activity in co-culture system. The results showed the growth and multiplication of the alga were related with the concentration, genus speciality of the bacteria, and growth stage of the alga itself. The growth of A. tamarense was obviously inhibited by S7 and S10 at high concentration. Either inhibition or promotion contributed much more clearly in earlier than in later stageof the growth of the alga. Furthermore, there was a roughly similar variation trend of the activity of extra-cellular enzyme, β- glucosidase, in the water of the separately co-cultured bacteria S7 and S10 with the alga. The β-glucosidase activity（β-GlcA） rapidly increased during the later algal growth accompanying the increase of the lysis of the alga cells. The obvious inhibition of A. tamarense by marine bacteria at high concentration and evident increase of β-GlcA in co-colture system would help us in better understanding the relationship between red-tide alga and bacteria, and also enlightened us the possible use of bacteria in the bio-control of red-tide.
基金Supported by the NSFC-Guangdong Province Association Foundation(No.U0733006)the National Natural Science Foundation of China(No.30970502,40976065)the National Basic Research Program of China(973 Program)(No.2010CB428702)
文摘We investigated the allelopathic properties of Alexandrium tamarense(Laboar) Balech on the growth of Prorocentrum donghaiense Lu,Chattonella marina(Subrahmanyan) Hara et Chihara and Heterosigma akashiwo(Hada) Hada in a laboratory experiment.We examined the growth of A.tamarense,C.marina,P.donghaiense and H.Akashiwo in co-cultures and the effect of filtrates from A.tamarense cultures in various growth phases,on the three harmful algal bloom(HAB)-forming algae.In co-cultures with A.tamarense,both C.marina and H.akashiwo were dramatically suppressed at high cell densities;in contrast,the growth of P.donghaiense varied in different inoculative ratios of A.tamarense and P.donghaiense.When the ratio was 1:1(P.donghaiense:A.tamarense),growth of P.donghaiense was inhibited considerably,while the growth of P.donghaiense was almost the same as that of the control when the ratio was 9:1.The growth difference of P.donghaiense,C.marina and H.akashiwo when co-cultured with A.tamarense indicated that the allelopathic effect may be one of the important factors in algal competition and phytoplankton succession involving A.tamarense.In addition,the filtrate from A.tamarense culture had negative impacts on these three HAB algae,and such inhibition varied with different growth phases of A.tamarense in parallel with reported values of PSP toxin content in Alexandrium cells.This implied that PSP toxin was possibly involved in allelopathy of A.tamarense.However,the rapid decomposition and inactivation of PSP toxin above pH7 weakened this possibility.Further studies on the allelochemicals responsible for the allelopathy of A.tamarense need to be carried out in future.
基金supported by Earmarked Fund for Modern Agro-industry Technology Research System of China (Grant No. CARS-47)Special Fund for Agroscientific Research in the Public Interest of China (Grant No. 201103034)the National ‘863’ Project of China (Grant No. 2012AA10A409)
文摘This study investigated the inductive effect ofAlexandrium tamarense, a toxic dinoflagellate producing paralytic shell- fish poison, on oxidative stress and apoptosis in hepatopancreas of Chinese shrimp, Fenneropenaeus chinensis. The individuals of E chinensis were exposed to 200 and 1000 cells mL-1 of A. tamarense with their superoxide dismutase （SOD）, glutathione S-transferase （GST） activities, malonyldialdehyde （MDA） concentration, and caspase gene （FcCasp） expression in hepatopancreas determined at 12, 24, 48, 72 and 96 h. In addition, apoptosis in hepatopancreas of E chinensis at 96 h after exposure was determined through terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated dUTP nick end labeling （TUNEL） assay. The hepatopancreatic SOD and GST activities of F. chinensis exposed to 1000 cells mL-1 ofA. tamarense showed a bell-shaped response to exposure time. The hepatopancreatic MDA concentration ofF. chinensis exposed to 1000 cellsmL-1 ofA. tamarense increased gradually from 48 to 96h, and such a trend corresponded to the decrease of GST activity. The hepatopancreatic FcCasp transcript abundance of F. chinensis exposed to 1000 cells mL-1 ofA. tamarense was positively and linearly correlated to MDA concentration. Results of TUNEL assay showed that exposure to 1000 cells mL-1 of A. tamarense induced apoptosis in the hepatopancreas of E chinensis. Our study revealed that A. tamarense exposure influenced the antioxidative status ofF. chinensis and caused lipid peroxidation and apoptosis in the hepatopancreas of shrimp.
文摘Competition among HAB (Harmful Algal Bloom) species Dinoflagellate Alexandrium tamarense , Raphidophyte Heterosigma carterae , and Diatom Skeletonema costatum was studied in the laboratory. Experiments with these three major HAB species under combinations of different salinities (10, 18, 25, 30, 35) and temperatures (19℃, 25℃) were carried out. The results showed that S. costatum successfully competed with the other two species at salinities of 18, 25, 30, and 35 at temperatures of 19℃ and 25℃. However, H. carterae showed its advantage at low salinity of 10 and became the single dominant species at salinity 10 and 25℃. A. tamarense could not compete successfully with the other two species especially at low salinities. However, it could remain at low density in the presence of higher densities of other algae.
文摘The PSP toxicity of Alexandrium tamarense （Lebour） Balech on the blue mussel （Mytilus edulis） from the western waters of Xiamen in China was studied by following the standard method of PSP mouse bioassay developed by the Association of Official Analytical Chemists （ AOAC ）. The results showed that the mice survived when the density of A. tamarense cells was lower than 1×10^5 cells per cubic decimetre and died when the density was higher than 1×10^6 cells per cubic decimetre. The past record of red tide events in the western waters of Xiamen showed a general trend of starting from the bloom of non-toxic planktonic diatoms in local waters and resulting in a harmful algal bloom due to the fade of planktonic diatoms which failed in the survival competition in the unfavorable and deteriorated eco-environment. On the basis of experimental results and natural environment of Xiamen waters and by making reference to the critical criteria of shellfish toxins in various states, a prewarning value 1×10^5 cells per cubic decimetre of A. tamarense PSP toxicity was proposed for the areas in South China where red tides frequently occur.
基金the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No.40376032)the Ministry of Science and Technology of the People’s Republic of China (No.2001CB409700)
文摘Sulfotransferase （ST） is the first enzyme discovered in association with paralytic shellfish poisoning （PSP） toxin biosynthesis in toxic dinoflagellates. This study investigates the ST activity m crude enzyme extraction of a toxic dinoflagellate species, Alexandrium tamarense CI01. The results show that crude enzyme can transfer a sulfate group from 3＇-phosphoadenosine 5＇-phosphosulfate （PAPS） to N-21 in the carbamoyl group of gonyautoxin 2/3 （GTX2/3） to produce C 1/C2, but is inactive toward STX to produce GTX5. The crude enzyme is optimally active at pH 6.0 and 15℃. The activity is enhanced by Co^2＋, Mg^2＋, Mn^2＋ and Ca^2＋ individually, but is inhibited by Cu^2＋. Moreover, the activity shows no difference when various sulfur compounds are used as sulfate donors. These results demonstrate that the ST specific to GTX2/3 is present in the cells of A. tamarense CI01 and is involved in PSP toxin biosynthesis. In addition, the ST from different dinoflagellates is species-specific, which explains well the various biosynthesis pathways of the PSP toxins in toxic dinoflagellates.
基金The Nature Science Foundation of Qingdao, China under contract No. 05-1-JC-87International Foundation for Science under contract No.AA/16180 awarded to Sui Zhenghong
文摘Harmful algal blooms （HABs） have been affecting negatively the shellfish and aquaculture industries around the world. Though a lot of efforts have been made to disclose the changes of environmental factors involved and their effects on the HABs events, the molecular mechanism of this process remains unclear. To address this problem, proliferating cell nuclear antigen gene （pcna） was isolated and characterized from Alexandrium catenella. It showed high homology to those of other dinoflagellates （89% and 91% homology to Pfiesteria piscicid and Pyrocystis lunula, respectively）, and also 42%–43% homology to those of plant and animals. The expression level of pcna revealed by quantitative real time PCR was the lowest at the late lagging cell growth phase, increased to the highest at the late exponential phase, and then decreased at the stationary phase. Though the cell growth rate was also changing, no positive correlation between pcna expression level and cell growth rate was displayed throughout the whole cell growth stages （r 2 =0.024 6）. However, the pcna expression level had the similar trend with the change of cell growth rate throughout the whole growing process, e.g., from increasing at the earlier cell growth stage to decreasing at the following stages, though slightly lagging to the latter.
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos.41176098 and 31372529)
文摘Flow cytometry(FCM) technique has been widely applied to estimating the genome size of various higher plants. However, there is few report about its application in algae. In this study, an optimized procedure of FCM was exploited to estimate the genome size of two eukaryotic algae. For analyzing Alexandrium catenella, an important red tide species, the whole cell instead of isolated nucleus was studied, and chicken erythrocytes were used as an internal reference. The genome size of A. catenella was estimated to be 56.48 ± 4.14 Gb(1C), approximately nineteen times larger than that of human genome. For analyzing Gracilariopsis lemaneiformis, an important economical red alga, the purified nucleus was employed, and Arabidopsis thaliana and Chondrus crispus were used as internal references, respectively. The genome size of Gp. lemaneiformis was 97.35 ± 2.58 Mb(1C) and 112.73 ± 14.00 Mb(1C), respectively, depending on the different internal references. The results of this research will promote the related studies on the genomics and evolution of these two species.
文摘Harmful algal blooms （HABs） can occur and then disappear quickly, corresponding to consistent growing and declining of heavy biomasses. The molecular mechanism of blooming remains unclear. In this study, calmodulin gene （cam） of HAB causing species Alexandrium catenella was isolated and characterized, The expression of calmodulin gene was profiled at different growth rates and in heat stress. The full cDNA of cam was 597 nucleotides （nt） in length, including a 25 nt 5＇ untranslated region （UTR）, an 122nt 3＇ UTR, and a 450nt open reading frame （ORF） encoding 149 amino acids. The deduced calmodulin （CAM） was highly conserved in comparison with those of other organisms. As was determined with real-time RT PCR, the abundance of cam transcript varied in a pattern similar to cell growth rate during the whole growing period. The abundance of cam transcript increased by more than 8 folds from lag growth phase to exponential growth phase, and then obviously decreased from exponential growth phase to stationary/decline growth phase. In addition, the relative abundance of cam transcript significantly declined with time during heat shock. Taking CaM function described in other organisms into account, we believe that Ca2- -involved signal transduction, methyla- tion of DNA and toxin precursors underlined the cell growth of this species. The response of cam gene to heat stress in dinoflagellate suggested restrictions in Ca2＋ signal transduction and methylation. These findings are helpful to understand the relationships among growth, cell signal transduction, bloom formation and interaction with environmental stimuli in dinoflagellates.
