The Genus Alexandrium (Dinophyceae, Dinophyta) in Brazilian Coastal Waters

Abstract

A review of the dinoflagellate genus Alexandrium occurring in Brazilian coastal waters is presented based on both published information and new data. Seven Alexandrium species have been recorded from Brazil so far: Alexandrium catenella, Alexandrium fraterculus, Alexandrium gaardnerae, Alexandrium kutnerae, Alexandrium tamiyavanichi, Alexandrium tamutum, and Alexandrium sp. While A. gaardnerae and A. kutnerae were identified based only on morphological characteristics, phylogenetic analysis (ITS and LSU rDNA) were performed for the remaining species based on cultures and/or field populations. Monoclonal cultures of the analyzed species were isolated from field samples obtained from Bahia (A. tamiyavanichi, two strains), Rio de Janeiro (A. tamutum, three strains; Alexandrium sp., two strains), Santa Catarina (A. fraterculus, one strain), and Rio Grande do Sul (Alexandrium tamarense, three strains). This is the first record of A. tamutum for the South Atlantic. In addition, molecular data for Brazilian strains of A. fraterculus are presented for the first time, as well as sequences from the ITS region for A. catenella (previously reported as A. tamarense) from Brazilian coastal waters. The morphological characters of the three species corresponded to those typically recorded in the literature and their identification was confirmed by molecular analysis. Based on the LSU rDNA and ITS regions, the three strains of A. catenella showed a high degree of similarity with strains from Southern Chile and North America. The implications and limitations of these findings for the monitoring protocols within the global and regional context are discussed.

Effects of marine harmful algal blooms on bivalve cellular immunity and infectious diseases: A review

“…Galimany, E., Sunila, I., Hégaret, H., Ramón, M., Wikfors, G.H., 2008c Lassudrie, M., Soudant, P., Richard, G., Henry, N., Medhioub, W., da Silva, P.M., Donval, A., Bunel, M., Le Goïc, N., Lambert, C., de Montaudouin, X., Fabioux, C., Hégaret, H., 2014 Goïc, N., Hégaret, H., Fabioux, C., Miner, P., Suquet, M., Lambert, C., Soudant, 2013. Impact Lelong, A., Haberkorn, H., Le Goïc, N., Hégaret, H., Soudant, P., 2011 Ma, H., Krock, B., Tillmann, U., Muck, A., Wielsch, N., Svatoš, A., Cembella, A., 2011. Isolation of activity and partial characterization of large non-proteinaceous lytic Table 1: Main bivalve diseases (mainly OIE notifiable diseases), associated pathogen, distribution and temporal dynamics, main marine HAB genera hypothetically co-occurring with disease (HABs reported to occur in regions and seasons where and when disease also occur, suggesting that both HABs and disease co-occur), and marine HAB species reported to co-occur with disease outbreaks in the field. Alexandrium, Pseudo-nitzschia, Ostreopsis, Gambierdiscus, Karenia, Karlodinium, Protoceratium, Gymnodinium, Dinophysis, Prorocentrum, Amphidinium, Vulcanodinium (Ajani et al, 2017, 2016 Unknown (Mello et al, 2018) Dinophysis spp., Gymnodinium, Pseudonitzschia, Alexandrium, Prorocentrum, Chatonella, Heterosigma, Fibrocapsa (Branco et al, 2019;Cuellar-Martinez et al, 2018;Mafra et al, 2015Mafra et al, , 2006Menezes et al, 2018;Moreira-González et al, 2019;Proença et al, 2001Proença et al, , 2007Simões et al, 2015;Tavares et al, 2009;Tibiriçá et al, 2015) NA Table 2. Literature survey of the main studies reporting the effects of marine harmful algal blooms (HABs) on bivalve infectious diseases or pathogens.…”

“…Nitzschia, Dinophysis, Alexandrium, Ostreopsis, Prorocentrum, Gambierdiscus (Aquino et al, 2015;De Carli, 2014;Jales et al, 2013;Machado et al, 2018;Menezes et al, 2018;Nascimento et al, 2012;Santiago et al, 2010) (Berthe et al, 2004;Carrasco et al, 2015) Alexandrium., Pseudo-nitzschia., Dinophysis, Ostreopsis, Azadinium, Vulcanodinium, Protoceratium, Lingulodinium, Gonyaulax Maximum prevalence in winter. (Arzul and Carnegie, 2015) Alexandrium., Pseudo-nitzschia., Dinophysis, Ostreopsis, Azadinium, Vulcanodinium, Protoceratium, Lingulodinium, Gonyaulax (Dove et al, 2013;Farley et al, 1988;Spiers et al, 2014) Alexandrium, Pseudo-nitzschia, Ostreopsis, Gambierdiscus, Karlodinium, Prorocentrum, Dinophysis, Amphidinium (Ajani et al, 2017 NA…”

Differentiating Two Closely Related Alexandrium Species Using Comparative Quantitative Proteomics

“…Processes involving carbohydrates are essential for cellular compartment of the organism and for energy source. Both organisms have thecal plates or “armor” that consist primarily of cellulose [ 44 ]. Lipid metabolism among dinoflagellates is essential in adapting to the changing environmental conditions through the alteration of the lipid composition [ 45 ].…”

Paralytic Toxin Producing Dinoflagellates in Latin America: Ecology and Physiology

“…Moreover, based on their results they propose a fraterculus group (A. tamiyavanichi/tropicale/fraterculus) as a sister group of A. tamarense species complex (Menezes et al, 2010). New morphological and molecular data (28S and ITS rDNA) for Alexandrium species from Brazil, confirm a close phylogenetic relationship among A. tamiyavanichi and A. fraterculus (Menezes et al, 2018), while A. catenella sequences were grouped with con-specifics from North America, Chile and Japan, moreover a genetic variability within A. tamutum clade was found, including a new record of this species for Brazil. Two strains isolated from Guanabara Bay formed a monophyletic clade with both molecular markers; suggesting it could be a new species of Alexandrium closely related to A. minutum and A. tamutum.…”

“…Among the toxinological studies performed on Alexandrium species in LAm, Brazilian isolates have been analyzed. Persich et al (2006) worked on Alexandrium isolates and reported the species as A. tamarense, but later molecular studies confirmed them as A. catenella (Menezes et al, 2018). Five isolates were cultured from cysts and one from vegetative cells, in f/2 medium at 20 • C. Toxins were extracted with 0.05 M acetic acid and analyzed by LC-FLD with post-column derivatization.…”