Fukuyoa paulensis gen. et sp. nov., a New Genus for the Globular Species of the Dinoflagellate Gambierdiscus (Dinophyceae)

Abstract

The marine epiphytic dinoflagellate Gambierdiscus is a toxicologically important genus responsible for ciguatera fish poisoning, the principal cause of non-bacterial illness associated with fish consumption. The genus currently contains species exhibiting either globular or anterior-posteriorly compressed morphologies with marked differences in cell shape and plate arrangement. Here we report a third globular, epiphytic and tychoplanktonic species from the coasts of Ubatuba, Brazil. The new species can be distinguished from G. yasumotoi and G. ruetzleri by its broader first apical plate that occupies a larger portion of the epitheca. Accordingly, phylogenetic trees from small subunit (SSU) and large subunit (LSU) ribosomal DNA sequences also showed strongly supported separation of the new species from the G. yasumotoi / G. ruetzleri group albeit with short distance. The molecular phylogenies, which included new sequences of the planktonic species Goniodoma polyedricum, further indicated that the globular species of Gambierdiscus formed a tight clade, clearly separated (with strong bootstrap support) from the clade of lenticular species including the type for Gambierdiscus. The morphological and molecular data in concert support the split of Gambierdiscus sensu lato into two genera. Gambierdiscus sensu stricto should be reserved for the species with lenticular shapes, highly compressed anterioposteriorly, with short-shank fishhook apical pore plate, large 2' plate, low and ascending cingular displacement, and pouch-like sulcal morphology. The new genus name Fukuyoa gen. nov. should be applied to the globular species, slightly laterally compressed, with long-shank fishhook apical pore plate, large 1' plate, greater and descending cingular displacement, and not pouch-like vertically-oriented sulcal morphology. Fukuyoa contains the new species Fukuyoa paulensis gen. et sp. nov., and F. yasumotoi comb. nov. and F. ruetzleri comb. nov.

Characterization of Gambierdiscus lapillus sp. nov. (Gonyaulacales, Dinophyceae): a new toxic dinoflagellate from the Great Barrier Reef (Australia)

“…(1999a); (b) Fraga and Rodriguez (); (c) Faust (); (d) Gómez et al. (); (e) Litaker et al. (); (f) Nishimura et al.…”

Impact of increasing water temperature on growth, photosynthetic efficiency, nutrient consumption, and potential toxicity of Amphidinium cf. carterae and Coolia monotis (Dinoflagellata)

“…Flø Jørgensen, S. Murray et Daugbjerg, Prorocentrum Ehrenb., Gambierdiscus Adachi et Fukuyo, Fukuyoa F. Gómez, D. Qui, R.M. Lopez et S. Lin, Ostreopsis Schmidt, and Coolia Meunier are known to form non-pelagic blooms in both tropical and temperate coastal waters (Morton et al 1992, Gómez et al 2015, and some species are toxic to higher organisms, including humans (Hallegraeff 2003). Noxious events of Amphidinium cf.…”

Morphological and molecular characterization of the toxic dinoflagellate Ostreopsis cf. ovata (Dinophyta) from Brazil (South Atlantic Ocean)

“…Cells fixed with glutaraldehyde were also observed at ×630 magnification with an inverted confocal microscope TCS SP8 AOBS (Leica, Wetzlar, Germany), after staining with Fluorescent Brightener 28. The nomenclature for the plate tabulation followed Gómez, Qiu, Lopes, and Lin (2015).…”