title: Distribution, occurrence and biotoxin composition of the main shellfish toxin producing microalgae within European waters: A comparison of methods of analysis.
abstract: Harmful algal blooms (HABs) are a natural global phenomena emerging in severity and extent. Incidents have many economic, ecological and human health impacts. Monitoring and providing early warning of toxic HABs are critical for protecting public health. Current monitoring programmes include measuring the number of toxic phytoplankton cells in the water and biotoxin levels in shellfish tissue. As these efforts are demanding and labour intensive, methods which improve the efficiency are essential. This study compares the utilisation of a multitoxin surface plasmon resonance (multitoxin SPR) biosensor with enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and analytical methods such as high performance liquid chromatography with fluorescence detection (HPLC-FLD) and liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) for toxic HAB monitoring efforts in Europe. Seawater samples (n=256) from European waters, collected 2009-2011, were analysed for biotoxins: saxitoxin and analogues, okadaic acid and dinophysistoxins 1/2 (DTX1/DTX2) and domoic acid responsible for paralytic shellfish poisoning (PSP), diarrheic shellfish poisoning (DSP) and amnesic shellfish poisoning (ASP), respectively. Biotoxins were detected mainly in samples from Spain and Ireland. France and Norway appeared to have the lowest number of toxic samples. Both the multitoxin SPR biosensor and the RNA microarray were more sensitive at detecting toxic HABs than standard light microscopy phytoplankton monitoring. Correlations between each of the detection methods were performed with the overall agreement, based on statistical 2×2 comparison tables, between each testing platform ranging between 32% and 74% for all three toxin families illustrating that one individual testing method may not be an ideal solution. An efficient early warning monitoring system for the detection of toxic HABs could therefore be achieved by combining both the multitoxin SPR biosensor and RNA microarray.
authors.affiliation: Institute for Global Food Security, School of Biological Sciences, Queen's University, Stranmillis Road, Belfast BT9 5AG, UK.
authors.forename: Sara E
authors.initials: SE
authors.lastname: McNamee
authors.affiliation: Marine Biological Association of UK, The Laboratory, Citadel Hill, Plymouth, UK.
authors.forename: Linda K
authors.initials: LK
authors.lastname: Medlin
authors.affiliation: Marine Biological Association of UK, The Laboratory, Citadel Hill, Plymouth, UK.
authors.forename: Jessica
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Kegel
authors.affiliation: Martin Ryan Institute, National University of Ireland, Galway, Ireland.
authors.forename: Gary R
authors.initials: GR
authors.lastname: McCoy
authors.affiliation: Martin Ryan Institute, National University of Ireland, Galway, Ireland.
authors.forename: Robin
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Raine
authors.affiliation: Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn, Villa Comunale, 80121 Napoli, Italy.
authors.forename: Lucia
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Barra
authors.affiliation: Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn, Villa Comunale, 80121 Napoli, Italy.
authors.forename: Maria Valeria
authors.initials: MV
authors.lastname: Ruggiero
authors.affiliation: Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn, Villa Comunale, 80121 Napoli, Italy.
authors.forename: Wiebe H C F
authors.initials: WH
authors.lastname: Kooistra
authors.affiliation: Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn, Villa Comunale, 80121 Napoli, Italy.
authors.forename: Marina
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Montresor
authors.affiliation: Linnaeus University, Marine Ecology Department, SE-39182 Kalmar, Sweden.
authors.forename: Johannes
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Hagstrom
authors.affiliation: Linnaeus University, Marine Ecology Department, SE-39182 Kalmar, Sweden.
authors.forename: Eva Perez
authors.initials: EP
authors.lastname: Blanco
authors.affiliation: Linnaeus University, Marine Ecology Department, SE-39182 Kalmar, Sweden.
authors.forename: Edna
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Graneli
authors.affiliation: Instituto Español de Oceanografía, Subida a Radio Faro 50, 36390 Vigo, Spain.
authors.forename: Francisco
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Rodríguez
authors.affiliation: Instituto Español de Oceanografía, Subida a Radio Faro 50, 36390 Vigo, Spain.
authors.forename: Laura
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Escalera
authors.affiliation: Instituto Español de Oceanografía, Subida a Radio Faro 50, 36390 Vigo, Spain.
authors.forename: Beatriz
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Reguera
authors.affiliation: University of Oslo, Department of Biosciences, 0316 Oslo, Norway.
authors.forename: Simon
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Dittami
authors.affiliation: University of Oslo, Department of Biosciences, 0316 Oslo, Norway.
authors.forename: Bente
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Edvardsen
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Science and Technology, University of Westminster, London W1W 6UW, UK.
authors.forename: Joe
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Taylor
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Science and Technology, University of Westminster, London W1W 6UW, UK.
authors.forename: Jane M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Lewis
authors.affiliation: INTECMAR, Peirao de Vilaxoán, Villagarcía de Arosa 36611, Spain.
authors.forename: Yolanda
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Pazos
authors.affiliation: Institute for Global Food Security, School of Biological Sciences, Queen's University, Stranmillis Road, Belfast BT9 5AG, UK.
authors.forename: Christopher T
authors.initials: CT
authors.lastname: Elliott
authors.affiliation: Institute for Global Food Security, School of Biological Sciences, Queen's University, Stranmillis Road, Belfast BT9 5AG, UK. Electronic address: katrina.campbell@qub.ac.uk.
authors.forename: Katrina
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Campbell
mesh_terms: D004784:Environmental Monitoring / Q000379:methods*; D005060:Europe; D006801:Humans; D008387:Marine Toxins / Q000032:analysis* / Q000737:chemistry; D058086:Microalgae / Q000737:chemistry*; D019319:Okadaic Acid / Q000032:analysis; D012530:Saxitoxin / Q000032:analysis; D012758:Shellfish / Q000382:microbiology*; D057096:Shellfish Poisoning / Q000382:microbiology / Q000517:prevention & control
chemical_list: D008387:Marine Toxins; D019319:Okadaic Acid; D012530:Saxitoxin
keywords: Biosensor; Domoic acid; Harmful algal bloom; Microarray; Okadaic acid; Saxitoxin