title: Growth and bioactive secondary metabolites of arctic Protoceratium reticulatum (Dinophyceae).
abstract: Harmful algal blooms are mainly caused by marine dinoflagellates and are known to produce potent toxins that may affect the ecosystem, human activities and health. Such events have increased in frequency and intensity worldwide in the past decades. Numerous processes involved in Global Change are amplified in the Arctic, but little is known about species specific responses of arctic dinoflagellates. The aim of this work was to perform an exhaustive morphological, phylogenetical and toxinological characterization of Greenland Protoceratium reticulatum and, in addition, to test the effect of temperature on growth and production of bioactive secondary metabolites. Seven clonal isolates, the first isolates of P. reticulatum available from arctic waters, were phylogenetically characterized by analysis of the LSU rDNA. Six isolates were further characterized morphologically and were shown to produce both yessotoxins (YTX) and lytic compounds, representing the first report of allelochemical activity in P. reticulatum. As shown for one of the isolates, growth was strongly affected by temperature with a maximum growth rate at 15°C, a significant but slow growth at 1°C, and cell death at 25°C, suggesting an adaptation of P. reticulatum to temperate waters. Temperature had no major effect on total YTX cell quota or lytic activity but both were affected by the growth phase with a significant increase at stationary phase. A comparison of six isolates at a fixed temperature of 10°C showed high intraspecific variability for all three physiological parameters tested. Growth rate varied from 0.06 to 0.19d-1, and total YTX concentration ranged from 0.3 to 15.0pg YTXcell-1and from 0.5 to 31.0pgYTXcell-1at exponential and stationary phase, respectively. All six isolates performed lytic activity; however, for two isolates lytic activity was only detectable at higher cell densities in stationary phase.
authors.affiliation: Alfred Wegener Institute, Am Handelshafen 12, D-27570 Bremerhaven, Germany.
authors.forename: Manuel
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sala-Pérez
authors.affiliation: Senckenberg Research Institute and Natural History Museum, Senckenberganlage 25, D-60325 Frankfurt a.M., Germany.
authors.forename: Tilman J
authors.initials: TJ
authors.lastname: Alpermann
authors.affiliation: Alfred Wegener Institute, Am Handelshafen 12, D-27570 Bremerhaven, Germany.
authors.forename: Bernd
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Krock
authors.affiliation: Alfred Wegener Institute, Am Handelshafen 12, D-27570 Bremerhaven, Germany. Electronic address: urban.tillmann@awi.de.
authors.forename: Urban
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Tillmann
mesh_terms: D001110:Arctic Regions; D004275:DNA, Ribosomal / Q000235:genetics; D004141:Dinoflagellida / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics / Q000254:growth & development*; D004988:Ethers, Cyclic; D006116:Greenland; D008387:Marine Toxins / Q000032:analysis* / Q000737:chemistry; D010802:Phylogeny; D013045:Species Specificity; D013696:Temperature
chemical_list: D004275:DNA, Ribosomal; D004988:Ethers, Cyclic; D008387:Marine Toxins
keywords: Arctic; Lytic activity; Protoceratium reticulatum; Temperature; Yessotoxin