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- Title
Association of the gonyaulacoid dinoflagellate Alexandrium ostenfeldii with spirolide toxins in size-fractionated plankton.
- Authors
CEMBELLA, ALLAN D.; BAUDER, ANDREW G.; LEWIS, NANCY I.; QUILLIAM, MICHAEL A.
- Abstract
Spirolides are pharmacologically active macrocyclic imines discovered in shellfish and plankton size-fractions collected from near-surface waters along the southeastern coast of Nova Scotia (NS), Canada. These compounds are most prevalent in the water column within plankton size-fractions from 21 to 56 μm during late spring. Analysis of bulk plankton material by liquid chromatography combined with ion-spray mass spectrometry indicated that gonyaulacoid dinoflagellates were domin-ant members of the plankton assemblage in these fractions when spirolides were abundant at Graves Shoal, NS, but that spirolides disappeared from the water column after a shift to diatom dominance. Spirolide composition in the plankton was rather consistent over time and among different sizefractions within a site, but the profile was radically different between sites in Nova Scotia. At Ship Harbour, NS, spirolides A, B, C and desmethyl-C were the major constituents, whereas at Graves Shoal, the primary spirolide derivatives were B, D and an isomer D2. Correlation analysis of spirolide abundance and the occurrence of particular taxa in size-fractionated plankton showed that the highest correlations were with Alexandrium species (r2 = 0.93) and GB42 cells (r2 = 0.83). These latter cells are now recognized as athecate forms of gonyaulacoid dinoflagellates, primarily of Alexandrium ostenfeldii. By analysis of size-fractionated plankton and comparison with cultured plankton isolates from spirolide-rich areas, we have substantiated the primary role of A. ostenfeldii as the source of spirolides in the water column.
- Subjects
NOVA Scotia; DINOFLAGELLATES; SHELLFISH; PLANKTON; AQUATIC biology
- Publication
Journal of Plankton Research, 2001, Vol 23, Issue 12, p1413
- ISSN
0142-7873
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.1093/plankt/23.12.1413