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Representative information about the range of toxin content on Ostreopsis species from different locations reported in the literature.
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The genus Ostreopsis includes some species that produce high biomass blooms and/or synthesize toxic compounds that can be transferred through the marine food webs or aerosolized causing ecological, human health and socio-economic impacts. Ostreopsis species are increasing their biogeographic distribution from tropical to more temperate waters and c...
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Context 1
... recent years, some reports have noticed the expansion of Ostreopsis cf. ovata in coastal waters of Australia, Brazil, China, Cook Islands, Caribbean Sea, French Polynesia, Hawaii, Indian Ocean, Japan, Malaysia, New Caledonia, New Zealand, Russia, Venezuela, Vietnam and specially in the Mediterranean Sea (Table 1). Other Ostreopsis species that appeared to have more confined distributions are also found in new areas. ...Context 2
... The Main Chemical Substances Involved in the MCE of the Genus Several species in the Ostreopsis genus are considered potentially harmful to humans and other marine organisms due to the production of palytoxin (PLTX) analogs ( Table 1). PLTX is the most potent non-bacterial toxin of biological origin, initially isolated in 1971 from the tropical soft coral genus Palythoa, and now recognized as 42-OH-PLTX (see revision by Ciminiello et al., 2011 andreferences in Poli et al., 2018). ...Context 3
... in chemical analysis technology, in particular on HR LC-MS/MS and Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) have revealed the high diversity of PLTX analogs ( Table 1 and Figure 1) and eight Ostreopsis species have been described as toxic. Ostreocin D (Figure 2) was the first analog isolated from O. siamensis by Usami et al. (1995) and other PLTX analogs, namely, ovatoxins, ostreocins or mascarenotoxin have been characterized for O. fattorussoi, O. mascarensis, O. cf. ...Context 4
... study was suggested to be taken with caution in the review by Parsons et al. (2012) since subsequent research indicated that bacteria could be involved in the toxicity of O. lenticularis strains from the Caribbean ( Mercado et al., 1994Mercado et al., , 1995Meunier et al., 1997;Pérez-Guzmán et al., 2008). Recently, Chomérat et al. (2019) have reported no toxicity of O. lenticularis strains using CBA-N2a and LC-UV-MS/MS analysis.Toxicity of O. heptagona, O. labens and O. rhodesae has only been described using biological assays and toxins involved in these effects have not been identified yet ( Table 1). In the case of O. cf. ...Context 5
... most species and strains, OVTX-a and OVTX-b are the most common toxin forms, and isoPLTX is often absent or only accounting for no more than 1% of the total toxins ( Tartaglione et al., 2017;Gémin et al., 2019). A main limitation to ascertain the health impacts risks associated to Ostreopsis blooms (and establishing legal toxin thresholds in seafood) is the lack of standards for the variety of toxins, all them complex and with high molecular weight (molecular formulas varying between C 129 H 223 N 3 O 55 and C 131 H 227 N 3 O 52 , Table 1). As for species identification, information in Table 1 may change in the near future to rapid progresses in toxin analytical methods. ...Context 6
... main limitation to ascertain the health impacts risks associated to Ostreopsis blooms (and establishing legal toxin thresholds in seafood) is the lack of standards for the variety of toxins, all them complex and with high molecular weight (molecular formulas varying between C 129 H 223 N 3 O 55 and C 131 H 227 N 3 O 52 , Table 1). As for species identification, information in Table 1 may change in the near future to rapid progresses in toxin analytical methods. ...Citations
... Although less data are available for fish species, moderate levels of μg/kg) were detected in Sarpa salpa whole flesh during O. cf ovata blooms, while even higher concentrations were reported in the digestive tracts of S. salpa and other fish species (Biré et al., 2013(Biré et al., , 2015. Biological effects were also documented on marine fauna exposed to algal bloom in field environment, with impairments evidenced by exoskeleton alterations, developmental effects or mass mortalities, in the worst cases Aligizaki et al., 2011;Pavaux et al., 2020;Ramos and Vasconcelos, 2010;Sardo et al., 2021;Ross, 2009, 2010). OVTXs mechanism of action in marine organisms still remains scarcely characterized. ...
... OVTXs mechanism of action in marine organisms still remains scarcely characterized. Vertebrates and in particular fish species, have been so far poorly investigated Faimali et al., 2012;Pavaux et al., 2020;Pezzolesi et al., 2012;Ramos and Vasconcelos, 2010) with pivotal laboratory investigation highlighting a strong sensitivity of Dicentrarchus labrax fish juveniles (Faimali et al., 2012). On the other hand, invertebrates are more investigated and in mussels, particularly affected by O. cf ovata blooms due to their benthic, sessile and filter-feeding behaviour, accumulation of OVTXs in tissues was associated with the inhibition of the Na+/K+ pump, immunological and histological alterations, inflammation and neurotoxicity Carella et al., 2015;Gorbi et al., 2012Gorbi et al., , 2013Malagoli et al., 2008). ...
... A possible risk associated with human ingestion should not be underestimated, since i) the OVTX bioaccumulation is well documented in seafood during O. cf. ovata blooms; ii) OVTXs levels near and above the 250 μg/kg threshold have been reported in marine invertebrates (Aligizaki et al., 2011;Pavaux et al., 2020); iii) the hypothesis of a lower toxicity of OVTXs compared to PlTX is still controversial; iv) O. cf. ovata has been reported to produce also low amount of isobaric PlTX (García-Altares et al., 2015); v) the possible trophic-transfer and potential biomagnification of the OVTXs has not been investigated yet. ...
... ovata is a benthic microalga able to produce toxins belonging to the palytoxin (PlTX) group (Nakajima et al. 1981;Meunier et al. 1997;Ciminiello et al. 2006;Yasumoto et al. 2007;Uchida et al. 2013;Brissard et al. 2015), recorded from tropical to temperate latitudes, with many records from Mediterranean coasts (Rhodes 2011;Parsons et al. 2012). Several environmental factors influence their abundance and bloom dynamics, including temperature, hydrodynamics, water depth, nutrient (both inorganic and organic) concentrations, substratum availability (Parsons and Preskitt 2007;Richlen and Lobel 2011;Glibert et al. 2012;Skinner et al. 2013;Accoroni et al. 2017a, b;Asnaghi et al. 2017;Pichierri et al. 2017;Boisnoir et al. 2018;Yong et al. 2018;Larsson et al. 2019;Pavaux et al. 2020). Ostreopsis cf. ...
In the framework of benthic harmful algal bloom monitoring, the most common sampling strategy is based on the collection of macroalgae, and the abundance of epiphytic microalgae are mainly expressed as cells g⁻¹ macroalgal fresh weight (fw). However, this methodology has some inherent problems, due to (i) the thallus-specific weights that markedly differ among algal species, (ii) the thallus architecture, and (iii) the production of allelopathic compounds that affects the epiphyte abundances among macroalgae, irrespective of the available colonizable surface. This study proposes a method to compare the abundances of Ostreopsis cf. ovata cells on different substrata, using a conversion factor that converts the abundances expressed as cells g⁻¹ fw (or dry weight) to cells cm⁻². Expressing abundances in terms of cells cm⁻², the abundances can be compared (i) among different macroalgal species and (ii) between macroalgae and other substrata (such as rocks, pebbles, or shellfish shells). We also propose to normalize abundances when different macroalgae are sampled throughout the bloom period, considering the different epiphyte loads of different macroalgal species regardless of the available surface area.
... In the last decade, scientific interest in benthic dinoflagellates has increased because of the capability of some of them to synthesize potent biotoxins and form Benthic Harmful Algal Blooms (BHABs; Tester et al., 2020). These compounds can affect humans and ecosystems through food intoxication (Bagnis et al., 1979;Friedman et al., 2017;Pavaux et al., 2020;Randall, 2005;Tripuraneni et al., 1997) or respiratory illness caused by marine aerosols (Ciminiello et al., 2014;Pavaux et al., 2020;Vila et al., 2016). They can also have adverse effects on marine organisms because of their toxic effects or through habitat degradation (Faimali et al., 2012;Gorbi et al., 2013;Neves et al., 2018;Privitera et al., 2012;Ramos & Vasconcelos, 2010;Shears & Ross, 2009;Simonini et al., 2011). ...
... In the last decade, scientific interest in benthic dinoflagellates has increased because of the capability of some of them to synthesize potent biotoxins and form Benthic Harmful Algal Blooms (BHABs; Tester et al., 2020). These compounds can affect humans and ecosystems through food intoxication (Bagnis et al., 1979;Friedman et al., 2017;Pavaux et al., 2020;Randall, 2005;Tripuraneni et al., 1997) or respiratory illness caused by marine aerosols (Ciminiello et al., 2014;Pavaux et al., 2020;Vila et al., 2016). They can also have adverse effects on marine organisms because of their toxic effects or through habitat degradation (Faimali et al., 2012;Gorbi et al., 2013;Neves et al., 2018;Privitera et al., 2012;Ramos & Vasconcelos, 2010;Shears & Ross, 2009;Simonini et al., 2011). ...
Coolia species are epiphytic and benthic dinoflagellates with a cosmopolitan distribution in tropical and subtropical areas. In the austral summer of 2016, during a survey in Bahía Calderilla, a dinoflagellate of the genus Coolia was detected in macroalgae samples, and a clonal culture was established. Subsequently, the cultured cells were observed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and identified as C. malayensis based on their morphological characteristics. Phylogenetic analyses based on the LSU rDNA D1/D2 regions confirmed that strain D005-1 corresponded to C. malayensis and clustered with strains isolated from New Zealand, Mexico, and Asia Pacific countries. Although the strain D005-1 culture did not contain yessotoxin (YTX), cooliatoxin, 44-methyl gambierone, or its analogs in detectable amounts by LC-MS/MS, more research is needed to evaluate its toxicity and to determine the possible impact of C. malayensis in northern Chilean waters.
... These allelochemicals are not only sources of potential pharmaceuticals, but also as algaecides, herbicides and insecticides [129]. Since the extensive coverage of microalgal allelochemicals is beyond the scope of this review, readers can refer to several excellent reviews on this topic for more information [3,[129][130][131][132][133][134][135] ...
Diverse ecologically important metabolites, such as allelochemicals, infochemicals and volatile organic chemicals, are involved in marine organismal interactions. Chemically mediated interactions between intra- and interspecific organisms can have a significant impact on community organization, population structure and ecosystem functioning. Advances in analytical techniques, microscopy and genomics are providing insights on the chemistry and functional roles of the metabolites involved in such interactions. This review highlights the targeted translational value of several marine chemical ecology-driven research studies and their impact on the sustainable discovery of novel therapeutic agents. These chemical ecology-based approaches include activated defense, allelochemicals arising from organismal interactions, spatio-temporal variations of allelochemicals and phylogeny-based approaches. In addition, innovative analytical techniques used in the mapping of surface metabolites as well as in metabolite translocation within marine holobionts are summarized. Chemical information related to the maintenance of the marine symbioses and biosyntheses of specialized compounds can be harnessed for biomedical applications, particularly in microbial fermentation and compound production. Furthermore, the impact of climate change on the chemical ecology of marine organisms-especially on the production, functionality and perception of allelochemicals-and its implications on drug discovery efforts will be presented.
... C. cohnii (ATCC30556) was isolated from Tolo harbour in the northern part of Hong Kong, but its ribotype claded with other C. cohnii species rather than with C. croucheri. This may reflect epiphytic-benthic niche differentiation [73] or water quality parameter changes, as Tolo Harbor had become substantially freshwater with less seawater intrusion after the construction of Plover Clove Reservoir. The well-defined thermal range ( Figure S2) also substantiates potential seasonal C. croucheri occurrences, as summer Hong Kong temperatures reach 33-35 • C. ...
The heterotrophic Crypthecodinium cohnii is a major model for dinoflagellate cell biology, and a major industrial producer of docosahexaenoic acid, a key nutraceutical and added pharmaceutical compound. Despite these factors, the family Crypthecodiniaceae is not fully described, which is partly attributable to their degenerative thecal plates, as well as the lack of ribotype-referred morphological description in many taxons. We report here significant genetic distances and phylogenetic cladding that support inter-specific variations within the Crypthecodiniaceae. We describe Crypthecodinium croucheri sp. nov. Kwok, Law and Wong, that have different genome sizes, ribotypes, and amplification fragment length polymorphism profiles when compared to the C. cohnii. The interspecific ribotypes were supported by distinctive truncation-insertion at the ITS regions that were conserved at intraspecific level, indicating stabilization. The long genetic distances between Crypthecodiniaceae and other dinoflagellate orders support the separation of the group, which includes related taxons with high oil content and degenerative thecal plates, to be ratified to the order level. The current study provides the basis for future specific demarcation-differentiation, which is an important facet in food safety, biosecurity, sustainable agriculture feeds, and biotechnology licensing of new oleaginous models.
... Impacts on marine fauna associated with Ostreopsis spp. blooms have been documented [2,3], and ecotoxicology studies are underway to elucidate the essential noxious mechanisms involved [4,5]. Palytoxin (PLTX) analogues (namely, putative or null hypothesis would be a negative rather than a null correlation; in our case, the relationship was positive. ...
This study aimed to improve the understanding of the nutrient modulation of Ostreopsis cf. ovata toxin content. During the 2018 natural bloom in the NW Mediterranean, the total toxin content (up to ca. 57.6 ± 7.0 pg toxin cell−1) varied markedly. The highest values often coincided with elevated O. cf. ovata cell abundance and with low inorganic nutrient concentrations. The first culture experiment with a strain isolated from that bloom showed that cell toxin content was higher in the stationary than in the exponential phase of the cultures; phosphate- and nitrate-deficient cells exhibited similar cell toxin variability patterns. The second experiment with different conditions of nitrogen concentration and source (nitrate, urea, ammonium, and fertilizer) presented the highest cellular toxin content in the high-nitrogen cultures; among these, urea induced a significantly lower cellular toxin content than the other nutrient sources. Under both high- and low-nitrogen concentrations, cell toxin content was also higher in the stationary than in the exponential phase. The toxin profile of the field and cultured cells included ovatoxin (OVTX) analogues -a to -g and isobaric PLTX (isoPLTX). OVTX-a and -b were dominant while OVTX-f, -g, and isoPLTX contributed less than 1-2%. Overall, the data suggest that although nutrients determine the intensity of the O. cf. ovata bloom, the relationship of major nutrient concentrations, sources and stoichiometry with cellular toxin production is not straightforward.
... Many bloom-forming species, for instance Prorocentrum cf. balticum, Ceratium spp., and Osteropsis spp., produce vast amounts of muco-polysaccharide exudates, mucospheres, mucilage, or toxic mucus trap [168][169][170][171] ( Figure 12A-C). Mucus production at these biomass levels could involve secretion of mucin-like proteins, as in the case of some diatoms [172], or potentially formed through partial hydrolysis after ecdysis; in either case, the amphiesma dynamics are involved. ...
Dinoflagellates are a major aquatic protist group with amphiesma, multiple cortical membranous “cell wall” layers that contain large circum-cortical alveolar sacs (AVs). AVs undergo extensive remodeling during cell- and life-cycle transitions, including ecdysal cysts (ECs) and resting cysts that are important in some harmful algal bloom initiation–termination. AVs are large cortical vesicular compartments, within which are elaborate cellulosic thecal plates (CTPs), in thecate species, and the pellicular layer (PL). AV-CTPs provide cellular mechanical protection and are targets of vesicular transport that are replaced during EC-swarmer cell transition, or with increased deposition during the cellular growth cycle. AV-PL exhibits dynamical-replacement with vesicular trafficking that are orchestrated with amphiesmal chlortetracycline-labeled Ca2+ stores signaling, integrating cellular growth with different modes of cell division cycle/progression. We reviewed the dynamics of amphiesma during different cell division cycle modes and life cycle stages, and its multifaceted regulations, focusing on the regulatory and functional readouts, including the coralzooxanthellae interactions.
... However, as discussed by Tubaro et al. (2011) this link has not been clearly established yet. Details of the intracellular content of different PLTX analogues (ostreocins, mascarenotoxins and ovatoxins) produced by Ostreopsis species reported in the literature can be found in the revisions by Ciminiello et al. (2011) and Pavaux et al. (2020a) while new families of toxins are discovered due to continuous methodological progresses (Ternon et al., 2022). ...
... In the Mediterranean coasts, different ovatoxins (OVTXs) and isobaric PLTX have been reported in mussels, sea urchins and omnivorous or herbivorous fish (Aligizaki et al., 2008;Amzil et al., 2012;Biré et al., 2013Biré et al., , 2015; see literature data in Table 3 of Pavaux et al., 2020a) at concentrations exceeding the safety alert threshold of 30 μg of PLTX-equivalent per kg of fresh flesh recommended by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA, 2009). Luckily, no cases of seafood poisoning have been reported yet in the Mediterranean region. ...
... However, in the last 20 years, blooms of Ostreopsis have become recurrent in certain beaches, and in some cases, they have been associated with mild acute respiratory illness and skin and mucosa irritation in humans (summarized in Table 2 of Pavaux et al., 2020a). PLTX-like compounds have been postulated as the toxins causing these problems although their direct implication has not yet been demonstrated. ...
This paper summarizes the research conducted by the partners of the EU co-funded CoCliME project to ascertain the ecological, human health and economic impacts of Ostreopsis (mainly O. cf. ovata) blooms in the NW Mediterranean coasts of France, Monaco and Spain. This knowledge is necessary to design strategies to prevent, mitigate and, if necessary, adapt to the impacts of these events in the future and in other regions.
Ostreopsis proliferations in the Mediterranean have been related to massive mortalities of benthic organisms and to symptoms of respiratory and cutaneous irritation in humans. A six-year epidemiologic study in a Ostreopsis hot spot in Catalonia and the accumulated experience of the French Mediterranean National Ostreopsis Surveillance Network confirm the main effects of these blooms on human health in the NW Mediterranean. The impacts are associated to direct exposure to seawater with high Ostreopsis cell concentrations and to inhalation of aerosols containing unknown irritative chemicals produced under certain circumstances during the blooms. A series of mild acute symptoms, affecting the entire body as well as the ophthalmic, digestive, respiratory and dermatologic systems have been identified. A main remaining challenge is to ascertain the effects of the chronic exposure to toxic Ostreopsis blooms.
Still, the mechanisms involved in the deletereous effects of Ostreopsis blooms are poorly understood. Characterizing the chemical nature of the harmful compounds synthesized by Ostreopsis as well as the role of the mucus by which cells attach to benthic surfaces, requires new technical approaches (e.g., metabolomics) and realistic and standardized ecotoxicology tests. It is also necessary to investigate how palytoxin analogues produced by O. cf. ovata could be transferred through the marine food webs, and to evaluate the real risk of seafood poisonings in the area. On the other hand, the implementation of beach monitoring and surveillance systems in the summer constitutes an effective strategy to prevent the impacts of Ostreopsis on human health.
In spite of the confirmed noxious effects, a survey of tourists and residents in Nice and Monaco to ascertain the socioeconomic costs of Ostreopsis blooms indicated that the occurrence of these events and their impacts are poorly known by the general public. In relationship with a plausible near future increase of Ostreopsis blooms in the NW Mediterranean coast, this survey showed that a substantial part of the population might continue to go to the beaches during Ostreopsis proliferations and thus could be exposed to health risks. In contrast, some people would not visit the affected areas, with the potential subsequent negative impacts on coastal recreational and touristic activities. However, at this stage, it is too early to accurately assess all the economic impacts that a potentially increasing frequency and biogeographic expansion of the events might cause in the future.
... Ostreopsis blooms have been associated with mild acute respiratory illness, and skin and mucosa irritation in humans (Pavaux et al. 2020). Palytoxin-analogues produced by this dinoflagellate have been proposed as the causative agent of these problems, although their direct implication is yet to be demonstrated (Tubaro et al. 2011). ...
The ocean’s contributions to humanity exceeds the products available from it, by absorbing more than 90% of the heat resulting from anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions. The ocean plays a major role in the global cycles of oxygen, carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide and other gases and rebalances the heat differential between poles and the equator, governing the climate to maintain life on our planet. The need to sustainably observe all areas of the ocean—as well as its unlimited potential for renewable ocean energy—are providing inspiration for new technological innovations. However, it is becoming more evident from recent scientific findings that ocean health is more at risk than previously thought, because different pressures add up and contribute to rapid and unpredictable changes in ocean ecosystems. With renewed, revitalized, and changing global scenarios and the United Nations declaring this decade as the UN Decade of Ocean Sciences for Sustainable Development, countries are moving up the ocean in their national policy agendas. Coastal countries, especially small island developing states, are advocating for socially equitable and environmentally sustainable growth. This will require systematic in-situ ocean data collection to understand today’s ocean and for forecasts, disaster risk reduction and early warning systems for coastal society and infrastructure and for the assessment and management of ocean resources. This chapter discusses in detail the need for and importance of ocean observations linked to the blue economy, using case studies to understand how under-resourced countries are facing the complex challenges of ocean observing.
... Ostreopsis blooms have been associated with mild acute respiratory illness, and skin and mucosa irritation in humans (Pavaux et al. 2020). Palytoxin-analogues produced by this dinoflagellate have been proposed as the causative agent of these problems, although their direct implication is yet to be demonstrated (Tubaro et al. 2011). ...
The ability of coastal nations to manage their coastal and marine environments is vital in the development and maintenance of national blue economies following the 2030 Agenda. Thus, capacity development (CD) is an important priority area to strengthen education and training for various stakeholders to help create an appropriately trained workforce able to develop, implement, and expand blue economies, especially in developing countries. The chapter is separated into three parts. Part one provides a synthesis of existing global and regional initiatives that build the foundation of CD for ocean sciences. Some multilateral initiatives that are discussed are the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC) of UNESCO, the Scientific Committee on Oceanic Research (SCOR), and the Partnership for Observation of the Global Ocean (POGO). The Western Indian Ocean Marine Science Association (WIOMSA) is presented as a prime example for a regional CD organization. Part two showcases lessons learned from case studies and success stories from training programs such as summer schools that bring together students from various backgrounds for intensive theoretical and practical training on cross-cutting topics. Part three provides recommendations for scientists, policymakers, and the private industry to accelerate global CD efforts and responses to achieve SDG 14 in the current decade.KeywordsCapacity developmentOcean scienceOcean observations
