• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.22 no.6
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• pp.754-762
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• 2012

Colbricon Superiore and Inferiore are two small adjacent high-mountain lakes located in the Paneveggio Natural Park (Italy) that offer the rare opportunity to study two iso-ecologic water environments differing only by area and volume in a ratio of 2:1 and 3:1, respectively. We took advantage of this setting to investigate phytoplankton dynamics, compare variability and productivity differences between the two basins, and assess size-dependent issues. The phytoplankton group of the Dinophyceae was chosen as the indicator organisms of ecological perturbation owing to their high sensitivity to environmental variations, as well as their acknowledged nature of versatile proxy to report global climatic changes. The study was conducted for over 10 years with fortnightly samplings. Results indicated that (a) the Dinophyceae communities in the smaller lake were significantly more resistant to changes exerted by the fluctuation of lakewater transparency and pH; and (b) the smaller lake sustained a consistently higher production with an average Dinophyceae density 1.73 fold higher than that of the larger lake. The coefficients of variation show that the chemical parameters in the smaller lake display higher time-related fluctuation while being spatially homogeneous and that such conditions correlate with a higher stability of the Dinophyceae assemblage. The use of this setting is also proposed as a model to test relationships between ecosystem production and physical stability.

• ALGAE
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• v.26 no.4
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• pp.317-325
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• 2011

Five benthic species of the genus Gambierdiscus (Dinophyceae) were observed for the first time in the coastal waters of Pakistan, Northern Indian Ocean. The morphology of the epiphytic, ciguatera-related toxic species G. toxicus, G. belizeanus, G. polynesiensis, G. australes and G. cf. yasumotoi are presented here, described by the Kofoid system of thecal plates Po, 3', 7", 6c, 8s, 5"', 1p, 2"" with differences in cell shape, cell size, plates, pores around the apical pore plate by using light and scanning electron microscopy. The occurrence of these potentially toxic dinoflagellate species in Pakistani coastal areas of Manora Channel and Balochistan during high temperatures of 28-$32^{\circ}C$ is cause of concern for human health impacts from ciguatera fish poisoning.

• Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.11 no.4
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• pp.209-211
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• 2008

Heterotrophic dinoflagellate Pfiesteria piscicida (Dinophyceae) has been claimed to produce potent ichthyotoxins that cause disorientation and eventually death of fish and other marine animals. A real-time PCR probe targeting for SSU rRNA gene was used for detection of P. piscicida in Chinhae Bay, Korea. PCR inhibitors were successfully removed by dilution of template DNA. Positive detections were shown from surface water samples indicating the presence of P. piscicida in Chinhae Bay.

• Proceedings of the Korean Environmental Sciences Society Conference
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• 2006.11a
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• pp.265-268
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• 2006

• ALGAE
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• v.18 no.4
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• pp.281-288
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• 2003

To study the environmental features causing a bloom of the novel dinoflagellate Heterocapsa circularisquama (Dinophyceae), hydrographic and chemical aspects were measured in the Uranouchi Bay, Kochi Prefecture, Japan, from January to December, 1997. The cell density of H. circularisquama increased rapidly in early October, and dropped sharply in mid-October. Growth rate of H, circularisquama during bloom period appeared 1.50 division day$^{-1}$ under high water temperature (25$^{\circ}C$) and salinity (32 psu) conditions. Althought the result from hydrographic aspect indicated good condition for their growth, dissolved inorganic phosphorus (DIP) concentration in surface layer before bloom formation was less than 0.70uM, which is lower than their half saturation constant(Ks). Dissolved inorganic nitrogen(DIN): DIP ratio was > 30, indicating potential P-limitation. However, before bloom formation period of H. circularisquama, DIP concentrations were high in bottom layer (> 4.0 uM). Some studies reported that H. circularisquama had the ability to migrate vertically and to utilize dissolved organic phosphorus (DOP). Thus, DIP in bottom layer might have been utilized by H. circularisquama for their growth.DOP might have weakly affected their growth because of low reactive DOP concentrations owing to low DOP concentration (ca. 0.39 uM). Thus, if nutrient condition of bottom layer in Uranuchi Bay is not improved, the outbreaks of H. circularisquama red tides may became an annual feature.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.14 no.4
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• pp.593-607
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• 2004

The nucleotide sequence for a nuclear-encoded small subunit rDNA (SSU rDNA) was determined for 43 species of the class Dinophyceae, including harmful algae Cochlodinium polykrikoides and Gyrodinium aureolum. These sequences and data analyses were performed by parsimony, distances and maximum likelihood methods in PHYLIP (Phylogenetic Inference Package) version 3.573c. The species Noctiluca scintillans, Gonyaulax spinifern and Crypthecodinium cohnii occupied a basal position within the Dino- phyceae in our analyses. The genera Alexandrium and Symbiodinium were monophyletic (supported by a bootstrap value of >70%), whereas the genera Gymnedinium and Gyrodinium formed polyphyletic nodes, for which bootstrap support was strong (>70%) in the neighbor-joining and maximum likelihood methods except for the PHYLIP parsimony analysis (=59%). The sequence divergence between G. aureolum and G. dorsum/ G. galathenum was the largest at 7.4% (45 bp), whereas G. aureolum and G. mikimotoi showed an extremely low value of genetic divergence of 0.9% (5 bp). The genetic divergence between C. polykrikoides and G. aureolum was a low value of 5.2% (31 bp). In the phylogenetic analysis, the placement of G. aureolum and C. polykrikoides was closer to the genus Gymnodinium than to the genus Gyrodinium, which was supported by a moderate bootstrap value.

• Journal of Environmental Science International
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• v.18 no.1
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• pp.9-14
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• 2009

Pfiesteriaand Pfiesteria-like organisms were reported to be linked to major fish kills(involving well over a billion fish) in North Carolina and Maryland estuaries on the U.S. east coast during the 1990s. Occurrences of these species have been recently reported from Korean waters including Chinhae Bay and the coast of Yeosu. In this study, the life cycle of Cryptoperidiniopsis brodyi and Pfiesteria piscicida were examined using DAPI staining. Their excystment and growth were stimulated directly by the addition of prey cells such as Rhodiminas salina. Amoeboid stages in C. brodyi and P. piscicida were never observed in culture, even after addition of filter-sterile fish mucus and tissue. The dominant life cycle stages consisted of motile flagellated zoospores and cysts. A typical dinoflagellate life cycle was demonstrated by direct observation and DAPI staining.

• Journal of Environmental Science International
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• v.18 no.1
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• pp.15-19
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• 2009

Early studies claimed that heterotrophic dinoflagellates Pfiesteria piscicida and related genera may produce a putative water-soluble toxin that causes death of fish and other marine animals. Several methods were tested to visualize plate morphology of Cryptoperidiniopsis brodyi and Pfiesteria piscicida. Cellulose plates of cells were exposed and visualized- by a membrane stripping method using Triton X-100. While calcofluor M2R white stain could readily bind to the thecal plates, details of the plate tabulation were difficult to observe. Fixation with osmium tetroxide $(OsO_4)$ produced well preserved cells with little morphological distortion, but thecal plates could not be visualized. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) observation using the membrane stripping method showed distinctive plate tabulations between C. brodyi and P. piscicida suggesting that this method is a useful tool for morphological identification of lightly armored dinoflagellates.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.14 no.2
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• pp.301-308
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• 2004

The morphology of the apical pore complex, the first apical plate and the posterior sulcal plates in a new isolate of Alexandrium tamarense (Lebour) Balech from the Bay of Chinhae was compared with other that of toxic strains of A. tamarense previously isolated from Korean waters. Although this isolate was morphologically identical to these toxic strains, high performance liquid chromatography and mouse bioassay showed no evidence of toxin production. The nontoxic A. tamarense strain showed a strong positive binding activity with PNA lectin, indicating a high density of lactose and galactose residues on the cell surface, and in SDS-PAGE and Western blot analysis a unique protein of about 21-kDa molecular sizes was observed. These findings demonstrate that the use of PNA and immunobioassay could be used to discriminate between toxic and nontoxic strains of A. tamarense.

• ALGAE
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• v.21 no.2
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• pp.253-259
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• 2006

Organic substances are released from phytoplankton cells during all phases of growth. The type and amounts of organic substance excreted and the effects of nutrient limitation are often highly species-specific. Dinoflagellate, Cochlodinium polykrikoides grown in batch culture produced an exopolysaccharide. Exopolysaccharide and intracellular polysaccharide concentrations increased as C. polykrikoides cultures progressed from exponential phase, through stationary phase, to declining phase. In the exponential phase, the concentration of exopolysaccharide was relatively low, but in the stationary phase, it showed a rapid increase which seemed to coincide with the depletion of nitrate from the medium. Of the 20 amino acids analyzed, proline dominated in the organic matter of all cultures ranging from 48.2 to 79.9 nmol L–1, and constituting the 20-90% of total amino acids, and followed by histamine varying from 0.7 to 47.5 nmol L–1. Leucine and cysteine were also abundant in the stationary phase. The release rates of exopolysaccharide and intracellualr polysaccharide were higher the end of stationary phase than in the exponential phase. Exopolysaccharide concentration per cell was more than two times higher during the end of stationary phase than that in exponential phase. C. polykrikoides produced extracellular polysaccharide at a rate of 47.04 pg cell–1 day–1.