title: The diversity of Coolia spp. (Dinophyceae Ostreopsidaceae) in the central great barrier reef region.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Dinoflagellates are important primary producers, crucial in marine food webs. Toxic strains, however, are the main causative agents of non-bacterial seafood poisoning, a major concern for public health worldwide. Despite their importance, taxonomic uncertainty within many genera of dinoflagellates is still high. The genus Coolia includes potentially harmful species and the diversity within the genus is just starting to become apparent.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In the current study, cultures were established from strains of Coolia spp. isolated from the central Great Barrier Reef (GBR). Cultures were identified based on thecal plate morphology and analyses of sequences (18S, ITS and 28S) from the nuclear rRNA operon. We report that the central GBR harbors a high diversity of Coolia species, including two species known to be capable of toxin production (C. tropicalis and C. malayensis), as well as the non-toxic C. canariensis. The strain of C. canariensis isolated from the GBR may in fact be a cryptic species, closely related but nevertheless phylogenetically distinct from the strain on which the holotype of C. canariensis was based. We also found evidence of the occurrence of a cryptic species morphologically very similar to both C. malayensis and C. monotis. The consequences of taxonomic confusion within the genus are discussed.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The central GBR region harbors a previously unreported high diversity of Coolia spp., including two species known to potentially produce toxins. The presence of a cryptic species of unknown toxicity highlights the importance of cryptic diversity within dinoflagellates.
authors.affiliation: School of Marine and Tropical Biology, James Cook University, Townsville, Queensland, Australia.
authors.forename: Paolo
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Momigliano
authors.forename: Leanne
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Sparrow
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Blair
authors.forename: Kirsten
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Heimann
mesh_terms: D001315:Australia; D001483:Base Sequence; D001499:Bayes Theorem; D044822:Biodiversity; D057894:Coral Reefs; D017931:DNA Primers / Q000235:genetics; D004275:DNA, Ribosomal / Q000235:genetics; D004141:Dinoflagellida / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics* / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D008855:Microscopy, Electron, Scanning; D008957:Models, Genetic; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010140:Pacific Ocean; D010802:Phylogeny; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D013045:Species Specificity
chemical_list: D017931:DNA Primers; D004275:DNA, Ribosomal