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sxtA-Based Quantitative Molecular Assay To Identify Saxitoxin-Producing Harmful Algal Blooms in Marine Waters
Citation
Murray, SA and Wiese, M and Stuken, A and Brett, S and Kellmann, R and Hallegraeff, GM and Neilan, BA, sxtA-Based Quantitative Molecular Assay To Identify Saxitoxin-Producing Harmful Algal Blooms in Marine Waters, Applied and Environmental Microbiology, 77, (19) pp. 7050-7057. ISSN 0099-2240 (2011) [Refereed Article]
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Copyright Statement
Copyright 2011 American Society for Microbiology
Abstract
The recent identification of genes involved in the production of the potent neurotoxin and keystone metabolite
saxitoxin (STX) in marine eukaryotic phytoplankton has allowed us for the first time to develop molecular
genetic methods to investigate the chemical ecology of harmful algal blooms in situ. We present a novel method
for detecting and quantifying the potential for STX production in marine environmental samples. Our assay
detects a domain of the gene sxtA that encodes a unique enzyme putatively involved in the sxt pathway in marine
dinoflagellates, sxtA4. A product of the correct size was recovered from nine strains of four species of
STX-producing Alexandrium and Gymnodinium catenatum and was not detected in the non-STX-producing
Alexandrium species, other dinoflagellate cultures, or an environmental sample that did not contain known
STX-producing species. However, sxtA4 was also detected in the non-STX-producing strain of Alexandrium
tamarense, Tasmanian ribotype. We investigated the copy number of sxtA4 in three strains of Alexandrium
catenella and found it to be relatively constant among strains. Using our novel method, we detected and
quantified sxtA4 in three environmental blooms of Alexandrium catenella that led to STX uptake in oysters. We
conclude that this method shows promise as an accurate, fast, and cost-effective means of quantifying the
potential for STX production in marine samples and will be useful for biological oceanographic research and
harmful algal bloom monitoring.
Item Details
| Item Type: | Refereed Article |
|---|---|
| Keywords: | toxic dinoflagellate probe |
| Research Division: | Biological Sciences |
| Research Group: | Plant biology |
| Research Field: | Phycology (incl. marine grasses) |
| Objective Division: | Animal Production and Animal Primary Products |
| Objective Group: | Fisheries - aquaculture |
| Objective Field: | Fisheries - aquaculture not elsewhere classified |
| UTAS Author: | Hallegraeff, GM (Professor Gustaaf Hallegraeff) |
| ID Code: | 76300 |
| Year Published: | 2011 |
| Funding Support: | Australian Research Council (LP0776759) |
| Web of Science® Times Cited: | 70 |
| Deposited By: | IMAS Research and Education Centre |
| Deposited On: | 2012-03-04 |
| Last Modified: | 2017-10-31 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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