Molecular Identification and Toxin Analysis of Alexandrium spp. in the Beibu Gulf: First Report of Toxic A. tamiyavanichii in Chinese Coastal Waters
1
Key Laboratory of Environment Change and Resources Use in Beibu Gulf, Ministry of Education, Nanning Normal University, Nanning 530001, China
2
Guangxi Laboratory on the Study of Coral Reefs in the South China Sea, Guangxi University, Nanning 530004, China
3
Guangxi Key Laboratory of Marine Environmental Science, Beibu Gulf Marine Research Center, Guangxi Academy of Sciences, Nanning 530007, China
4
Third Institute of Oceanography, Ministry of Natural Resources, Xiamen 361005, China
5
Biology Department, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, MA 02543, USA
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Toxins 2021, 13(2), 161; https://doi.org/10.3390/toxins13020161
Received: 25 January 2021 / Revised: 14 February 2021 / Accepted: 16 February 2021 / Published: 18 February 2021
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Phycotoxins: Chemistry and Biochemistry)
The frequency of harmful algal blooms (HABs) has increased in China in recent years. Information about harmful dinoflagellates and paralytic shellfish toxins (PSTs) is still limited in China, especially in the Beibu Gulf, where PSTs in shellfish have exceeded food safety guidelines on multiple occasions. To explore the nature of the threat from PSTs in the region, eight Alexandrium strains were isolated from waters of the Beibu Gulf and examined using phylogenetic analyses of large subunit (LSU) rDNA, small subunit (SSU) rDNA, and internal transcribed spacer (ITS) sequences. Their toxin composition profiles were also determined using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). All eight strains clustered in the phylogenetic tree with A. pseudogonyaulax, A. affine, and A. tamiyavanichii from other locations, forming three well-resolved groups. The intraspecific genetic distances of the three Alexandrium species were significantly smaller than interspecific genetic distances for Alexandrium species. Beibu Gulf isolates were therefore classified as A. pseudogonyaulax, A. affine, and A. tamiyavanichii. No PSTs were identified in A. pseudogonyaulax, but low levels of gonyautoxins (GTXs) 1 to 5, and saxitoxin (STX) were detected in A. tamiyavanichii (a total of 4.60 fmol/cell). The extremely low level of toxicity is inconsistent with PST detection above regulatory levels on multiple occasions within the Beibu Gulf, suggesting that higher toxicity strains may occur in those waters, but were unsampled. Other explanations including biotransformation of PSTs in shellfish and the presence of other PST-producing algae are also suggested. Understanding the toxicity and phylogeny of Alexandrium species provides foundational data for the protection of public health in the Beibu Gulf region and the mitigation of HAB events.
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Keywords:
Alexandrium tamiyavanichii; paralytic shellfish poisoning; molecular identification; toxicity; harmful algal blooms; Beibu Gulf
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MDPI and ACS Style
Xu, Y.; He, X.; Li, H.; Zhang, T.; Lei, F.; Gu, H.; Anderson, D.M. Molecular Identification and Toxin Analysis of Alexandrium spp. in the Beibu Gulf: First Report of Toxic A. tamiyavanichii in Chinese Coastal Waters. Toxins 2021, 13, 161. https://doi.org/10.3390/toxins13020161
AMA Style
Xu Y, He X, Li H, Zhang T, Lei F, Gu H, Anderson DM. Molecular Identification and Toxin Analysis of Alexandrium spp. in the Beibu Gulf: First Report of Toxic A. tamiyavanichii in Chinese Coastal Waters. Toxins. 2021; 13(2):161. https://doi.org/10.3390/toxins13020161
Chicago/Turabian StyleXu, Yixiao; He, Xilin; Li, Huiling; Zhang, Teng; Lei, Fu; Gu, Haifeng; Anderson, Donald M. 2021. "Molecular Identification and Toxin Analysis of Alexandrium spp. in the Beibu Gulf: First Report of Toxic A. tamiyavanichii in Chinese Coastal Waters" Toxins 13, no. 2: 161. https://doi.org/10.3390/toxins13020161
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