Scrippsiella acuminata versus Scrippsiella ramonii: A Physiological Comparison

Abstract

Scrippsiella is a cosmopolitan dinoflagellate genus that is able to form Harmful Algal Blooms in coastal waters. The large physiological, morphological, and genetic variability that characterizes this genus suggest the existence of cryptic species. In this study, flow cytometric analyses were carried out to compare the cell cycle and life cycle of two Scrippsiella strains from two different species: Scrippsiella ramonii (VGO1053) and Scrippsiella acuminata (S3V). Both species were also investigated by internally transcribed spacer rDNA sequencing and high‐performance liquid chromatography‐based pigment analyses. The reddish‐brown color of S. acuminata and yellowish‐green hue of S. ramonii were consistent with the quantitative differences determined in their pigment profiles. Our results indicate that the cell cycle is light‐controlled and that it differs in the two species. S‐phase was detected during the light period in both, whereas the G2/M phase occurred during the light period in S. ramonii but under dark conditions in S. acuminata. The detection of 4C stages, mobile zygotes (planozygotes), and resting cysts in S. ramonii (nonclonal) provided convincing evidence of sexuality in this species. Sexual related processes were not found in the clonal S. acuminata strain, suggesting its heterothallic behavior (i.e., the need for outcrossing). The differences in the genome size of these species were examined as well. © 2019 The Authors. Cytometry Part A published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. on behalf of International Society for Advancement of Cytometry.

Liza ramada Juveniles after Exposure to the Toxic Dinoflagellate Vulcanodinium rugosum: Effects on Fish Viability, Tissue Contamination and Microalgae Survival after Gut Passage

“…The control microalgae S. acuminata is a non-toxic dinoflagellate similar to V. rugosum in size (20-40 µ m), shape and life cycle with a pelagic and a benthic stage [83]. The strain, isolated from the South China Sea, was cultivated under the same conditions as V. rugosum except for the temperature, which was kept at 20 °C.…”

“…To estimate the algae ingestion by L. ramada, fish grasping behavior was observed throughout the experiment and the composition of fecal ribbons was analyzed using a photonic microscope. Then, 72 h after the beginning of the experiment, The control microalgae S. acuminata is a non-toxic dinoflagellate similar to V. rugosum in size (20-40 µm), shape and life cycle with a pelagic and a benthic stage [83]. The strain, isolated from the South China Sea, was cultivated under the same conditions as V. rugosum except for the temperature, which was kept at 20 • C.…”

Optical Detection of Harmful Algal Blooms in the Belgian Coastal Zone: A Cautionary Tale of Chlorophyll c3

“…Mass and molar pigment ratios from monospecific cultures obtained by HPLC and published in the literature (Buma et al, 1991;Vaulot et al, 1994;Moisan and Mitchell, 1999;Schlüter et al, 2000;Brotas and Plante-Cuny, 2003;Antajan et al, 2004;Latasa et al, 2004;Zapata et al, 2004Zapata et al, , 2011Zapata et al, , 2012Rodríguez et al, 2006;Laza-Martinez et al, 2007;Quijano-Scheggia et al, 2008;Astoreca et al, 2009;Seoane et al, 2009;Liu et al, 2011Liu et al, , 2014van Leeuwe et al, 2014;Organelli et al, 2017;Clementson and Wojtasiewicz, 2019b;Fagín et al, 2019) were compiled and combined with our measurements to produce a harmonized dataset of pigmentation in cyanobacteria and microalgae. By harmonized we mean that the pigment resolving power of each method was taken in consideration together with the pigment distribution across pigmentation groups (Jeffrey et al, 2011) and that mass and molar ratios were inter-converted as necessary by using the molecular weight of each pigment (Egeland et al, 2011).…”