title: Gambierdiscus balechii sp. nov (Dinophyceae), a new benthic toxic dinoflagellate from the Celebes Sea (SW Pacific Ocean).
abstract: A new benthic toxic dinoflagellate is described from the Celebes Sea. Gambierdiscus balechii sp. nov. was isolated from seaweeds growing in tidal ponds. Its morphology was studied by means of LM and SEM; G. balechii has a very ornamented theca, a hatchet shaped second apical plate, a narrow second antapical plate and an asymmetrical third precigular plate, a unique combination of characters among Gambierdiscus species. It has a very wide size range with widths from 36 to 88μm. Phylogenetic analyses of two G. balechii strains, based on LSU rRNA (D8-D10) and partial SSUrRNA sequences confirmed that these clustererd in its' own group, separated from the rest of Gambierdiscus species and with G. pacificus, G. belizeanus and G. scabrosus as its closest relatives. Thecate cysts are described from culture as non motile vegetative-like cells which germinated after being isolated and transferred to fresh medium. Mouse tests showed that this species is toxic and hence it is a potential cause of ciguatera in the Celebes Sea.
authors.affiliation: Centro Oceanográfico de Vigo, Instituto Español de Oceanografía, Subida a Radio Faro 50, 36390 Vigo, Spain. Electronic address: santi.fraga@vi.ieo.es.
authors.forename: Santiago
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Fraga
authors.affiliation: Centro Oceanográfico de Vigo, Instituto Español de Oceanografía, Subida a Radio Faro 50, 36390 Vigo, Spain. Electronic address: francisco.rodriguez@vi.ieo.es.
authors.forename: Francisco
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Rodríguez
authors.affiliation: Instituto de Investigacións Mariñas (IIM-CSIC) Eduardo Cabello 6, 36208 Vigo, Spain. Electronic address: pilarriobo@iim.csic.es.
authors.forename: Pilar
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Riobó
authors.affiliation: Centro Oceanográfico de Vigo, Instituto Español de Oceanografía, Subida a Radio Faro 50, 36390 Vigo, Spain. Electronic address: isabel.bravo@vi.ieo.es.
authors.forename: Isabel
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Bravo
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D036841:Ciguatera Poisoning / Q000469:parasitology*; D004275:DNA, Ribosomal / Q000235:genetics; D004141:Dinoflagellida / Q000145:classification* / Q000166:cytology / Q000235:genetics / Q000648:ultrastructure; D007214:Indonesia; D008387:Marine Toxins / Q000633:toxicity; D051379:Mice; D010140:Pacific Ocean; D010802:Phylogeny; D012623:Seawater / Q000469:parasitology; D013045:Species Specificity; D018675:Toxicity Tests
chemical_list: D004275:DNA, Ribosomal; D008387:Marine Toxins
keywords: Benthic dinoflagellates; Celebes Sea; Ciguatera; Cysts; Gambierdiscus balechii; rRNA