Osmotic stress triggers toxin production by the dinoflagellate Karenia brevis.

ABSTRACT: With the increase in frequency of harmful algal blooms (HABs) worldwide, a better understanding of the mechanisms that influence toxin production is needed. Karenia brevis, the major HAB dinoflagellate in the Gulf of Mexico, produces potent neurotoxins, known as brevetoxins. Human health is directly impacted by blooms of K. brevis through consumption of shellfish contaminated by accumulated brevetoxins (neurotoxic shellfish poisoning) or from aerosolized brevetoxins in sea spray (reduced respiratory function); however, the reason for brevetoxin production has remained a mystery. Here we show that brevetoxin production increased dramatically in response to osmotic stress in three of the four K. brevis clones examined. By rapidly changing salinity to simulate a shift from oceanic conditions

SUBMITTER: Errera RM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3127906 | biostudies-literature | 2011 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature