Toxic Diatoms

&
Dinoflagellates

Naina Kalra
7th semester
Department of Microbiology
Faculty of Life Sciences (FLSI)
BUITEMS
Intro
• Diatoms and dinoflagellates – single celled algae
• Greatest abundance in nearshore coastal areas
• 50m surface water as photosynthetic
• Diatoms fixes 45% of the ocean carbon via photosynthesis
• Variety of shapes
Cont…

Diatoms and dinoflagellates

differ w.r.t motility, cell-wall
composition and
ornamentation, and
nutritional and reproductive
strategies.
Cont…
• Diatoms and dinoflagellates form the base of the food web in many marine
ecosystems and are major players in the biogeochemical cycling of C, N, P, Si as
phytoplankton provide food for a tremendous variety of organism;
Zooplanktons
↓
molluscan shellfish (mussels, oysters, scallops, and clams)
&
small fish (such as anchovies and sardines)
↓
other animals, including crabs, starfish, fish, marine birds, marine mammals,
and humans
Cont…
• Despite such advantages
• Rapid cell division and population growth in phytoplankton can produce
millions of cells per liter of seawater
• Red tides and blooms formed
• Toxins produced
• Leads to ENVIRONMENTAL & HUMAN HEALTH ISSUES
Toxic diatoms and dinoflagellates
• A tragic event in 1987 changed forever the way diatoms are viewed
• Most diatoms are beneficial to the oceans’ ecosystems and ultimately to
human health.
• However, a unique food poisoning in eastern Canada led to the illness of more
than 100 people and the death of four elderly individuals.
• The potent neurotoxin domoic acid (DA) was found to be the culprit
• Toxin-Producing Diatoms, Genus Pseudo-nitzschia
• Dinoflagellates – red tides – major cause of PSP
Mechanism of
action of
Domoic acid
HARMFUL ALGAL
BLOOMS (HABS)
What are Harmful Algal Blooms (HABs)?
• Harmful algal blooms or HABs are algal blooms composed of
phytoplankton known to naturally produce biotoxins, they can occur when
certain types of microscopic algae grow quickly in water, forming visible
patches that may harm the health of the environment, plants, or animals

• HABs can deplete the oxygen and block the sunlight that other organisms
need to live, and some HAB-causing algae release toxins that are
dangerous to animals and humans

• HAB can occur in marine, estuarine, and fresh waters.

What causes HABs?
• Eutrophication
• Warm temperatures
• High intensity of sunlight
• Runoff
• Farming
• Human sewage
• Pesticides
• Mostly occurs in areas of upwelling
Toxic diatoms and dinoflagellates
• Red tides – misleading term
• Can be of other colors and not tidal phenomena
• Dinoflagellates are associated with worldwide occurrences of red tides
• A unique characteristic of some red tides is the phenomenon of
bioluminescence.
• Light produced by some species of dinoflagellates (Noctiluca scintillans,
Lingulodinium polyedra) can actually illuminate the waves and surface of the
ocean under bloom conditions.
• Some but not all red tides are toxic – neurotoxin
 Red tides in Florida

An algal bloom turns water in Repulse Bay red

Red-algal-bloom-at-Leigh-near-Cape-Rodney (2015)
Major human illnesses and toxins
• Diatoms
• ASP: Amnesic Shellfish Poisoning

• Dinoflagellate
• PSP: Paralytic Shellfish Poisoning
• NSP: Neurotoxic Shellfish Poisoning
• CFP: Ciguatera Fish Poisoning
• DSP: Diarrhetic Shellfish Poisoning
Cont…
• Algal toxins are organic molecules produced by a variety of algae in marine,
brackish and fresh waters
• They are a problem in Fisheries when they are produced in sufficient
quantities, with sufficient potency, to kill cultured organisms, decrease feeding
and growth rates, cause food safety issues, or adversely affect the quality of
the product
• Algal toxins do not enter the marine environment from an external source but
are generated during blooms of particular naturally occurring marine algal
species.
• The occurrence of toxic algae is perfectly natural but there are concerns that
increases in the supply of essential nutrients through human activities may be
contributing to the increased frequency and magnitude of these events.
Cont…
• Fate and behaviour in the marine environment

• Released either when algal cells are ingested by filter feeding animals, or when algal
cells are broken down after a bloom crashes

• Some dinoflagellate species of toxic algae form cysts that can accumulate in the
sediment and act as an inoculums for a new population when conditions favour
germination of the cysts
Cont…

Bioaccumulation
Many algal toxins readily bio accumulate in marine animals and significantly bio
magnify through food chains posing a hazard to consumers at higher trophic
levels (fish, birds and sea mammals).
PSP: Paralytic Shellfish Poisoning
Cont…
• Paralytic shellfish poisoning (PSP) is probably the best known of all the
shellfish poisonings

• Around 20 species of dinoflagellates have been implicated in producing the

alkaloid toxin saxitoxin, a potent neuromuscular blocking agent that finds its
way through shellfish to humans

• Dinoflagellate species known to produce this toxin include Gymnodinium

catenatum, Alexandrium catenella, A. minutum etc.

• Voltage gated sodium channels blocked

Ciguatera poisoning
• Caused by potent neurotoxins produced by Gambierdiscus toxicus,a
dinoflageletes.

• These toxins build-up in the food chain, starting from small fish grazing on
algae on coral reefs which are then eaten by larger top-order predators such
as coral trout, red bass, chinaman fish etc.
Diarrhetic shellfish poisoning

• Dinophysis fortii and D. acuminate identified as responsible.

• Eating shellfish contaminated with diarrhetic shellfish toxins (akodoic acid,

dinophysistoxins and pectenotoxins) causes severe gastrointestinal problems.
Amnesic shellfish poisoning
• The amnesic shellfish toxin, domoic acid, is produced by the diatoms Nitzschia
pungens, Nitzschia pseudodelicatissima which accumulate in shellfish and
affect their consumers.
• Shellfish containing more than 20 parts per million domoic acid are considered
unfit for human consumption
Conclusion
• HABs can produce the neurotoxin DA and number of other toxins
• It is important that medical professionals be educated about the symptoms
• Although there is presently no antidote to ASP other than supportive care
(e.g., respiratory support and control of convulsions), it is essential that a rapid
diagnosis be made.
• Ultimately, early warning of HAB events will minimize exposure of humans to
this toxin.
References
• Adams, N.G., MacFadyen, A., Hickey, B.M., Trainer, V.L., 2006. The nearshore
advection of a toxigenic Pseudo-nitzschia bloom and subsequent domoic acid
contamination of intertidal bivalves. Afr. J. Mar. Sci. 28, 271–276.
• Andersen, P., Enevoldsen, H., Anderson, D., 2003. Harmful algal monitoring
programme and action plan design. In Hallegraeff, G.M., Anderson, D.M., and
Cembella A.D. (eds.), Manual on Harmful Marine Microalgae, pp. 627–647.
Paris, UNESCO.
• Anderson, C.R., Brzezinski, M.A., Washburn, L., Kudela, R., 2006. Circulation
and environmental conditions during a toxigenic Pseudo-nitzschia bloom in
the Santa Barbara Channel, California. Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser. 327, 119–133.
• Bates, S.S., 1998. Ecophysiology and metabolism of ASP toxin production. In
Anderson, D.M., Cembella, A.D., and Hallegraeff, G.M. (eds.), Physiological
Ecology of Harmful Algal Blooms, pp. 405–426. Heidelberg, Springer-Verlag.
Thank you