Development of real-time PCR assays for rapid detection of Pfiesteria piscicida and related dinoflagellates.

ABSTRACT: Pfiesteria complex species are heterotrophic and mixotrophic dinoflagellates that have been recognized as harmful algal bloom species associated with adverse fish and human health effects along the East Coast of North America, particularly in its largest (Chesapeake Bay in Maryland) and second largest (Albermarle-Pamlico Sound in North Carolina) estuaries. In response to impacts on human health and the economy, monitoring programs to detect the organism have been implemented in affected areas. However, until recently, specific identification of the two toxic species known thus far, Pfiesteria piscicida and P. shumwayae (sp. nov.), required scanning electron microscopy (SEM). SEM is a labor-intensive process in which a small number of cells can be analyzed, posing limitations when the metho

SUBMITTER: Bowers HA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC92361 | biostudies-literature | 2000 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature