Pennate Diatom Nitzschia pungens as the Primary Source of Domoic Acid, a Toxin in Shellfish from Eastern Prince Edward Island, Canada

Abstract

An outbreak of food poisoning in Canada during autumn 1987 was traced to cultured blue mussels (Mytilus edulis) from the Cardigan Bay region of eastern Prince Edward Island (P.E.I.). The toxin, identified as domoic acid, had not previously been found in any shellfish and this outbreak represents the first known occurrence of human poisoning by this neurotoxin. A plankton bloom at the time of the outbreak consisted almost entirely of the pennate diatom, Nitzschia pungens f. multiseries, and a positive correlation was found between the number of N. pungens cells and the concentration of domoic acid in the plankton. Nitzschia pungens f. multiseries isolated from Cardigan Bay produced domoic acid in culture at levels (1 to 20 pg∙cell−1) comparable with values estimated for N. pungens in the plankton samples. Isolates of several Cardigan Bay phytoplankton, including the closely related species Nitzschia seriata, failed to produce domoic acid. Other Nitzschia spp. and two Amphora coffeaeformis isolates also failed to produce domoic acid. We conclude that N. pungens was the major source of the domoic acid in toxic mussels in eastern P.E.I. The recurrence, in November 1988, of a monospecific bloom of N. pungens and the presence of domoic acid in plankton and mussels reinforced this conclusion.

Induction of domoic acid production in the toxic diatom Pseudo-nitzschia seriata by calanoid copepods

“…The first recorded ASP incident, which affected more than 100 humans took place in Prince Edward Island, Canada, in 1987, and it was caused by consumption of DA-contaminated blue mussels (Bates et al, 1989). The effects of DA on sea birds, sea lions and fish have been studied (Fritz et al, 1992;Scholin et al, 2000;Lefebvre et al, 2012), whereas there is not much knowledge of possible effects of DA on, e.g.…”

New fish-killing alga in coastal Delaware produces neurotoxins.

“…Scientists have clearly demonstrated microalgae associated with very specific symptoms of human poisoning. These symptoms, often associated with the consumption of toxic seafood, are known as paralytic shellfish poisoning (saxitoxin ingestion), neurotoxic shellfish poisoning (exposure to brevetoxin), diarrheic shellfish poisoning (ingestion of okadaic acid), amnesic shellfish poisoning (ASP; domoic acid ingestion), and ciguatera fish poisoning (with ciguatoxin ingestion), respectively (3)(4)(5)(6)(7). These syndromes are common to temperate, subtropical, and tropical environments where the microalgae associated with each toxin are found.…”

“…Along with the elevated frequency, organisms thought previously to be nontoxic are being demonstrated to produce potent toxins. Notable recent events of this type are the diatom blooms of Pseudo-nitzschia multiseries on the Canadian Atlantic coast in 1987 and P. australis on the California coast in 1991, 1998, and 1999, causing human ASP and marine animal deaths, respectively (7,13,14).…”

Developmental Biology of Neoplastic Growth

“…The use of DOM-containing algae for medicinal purposes in humans did not result in any reported incidences of severe toxicity. However, an outbreak of food poisoning resulting from ingestion of DOMcontaining blue mussels on Prince Edward Island Canada in 1987 demonstrated its potential for toxicity in humans and was the proximal cause of three deaths (Bates et al 1989;Wright et al 1989;Perl et al 1990b). The clinical manifestation of DOM toxicity included moderate to severe gastrointestinal disorders and neurological symptoms that included disorientation, seizure and memory deficits in a subset of individuals (Perl et al 1990b;Teitelbaum et al 1990).…”