Chemiluminescence Detection of Red Tide Phytoplankton Chattonella marina

Abstract

A sensitive method was developed for monitoring the cell concentration of red tide phytoplankton Chattonella marina, which frequently caused fish death via an obscure mechanism. 2-Methyl-6-(p-methoxyphenyl)-3,7-dihydroimidazo[1,2-a]pyrazin-3-one (MCLA), a Cypyridina luciferin analog, which emits light strongly at 465 nm in the presence of superoxide, was applied as a chemiluminescence probe. The MCLA-dependent chemiluminescence of room-cultured axenic C. marina was efficiently suppressed by adding superoxide dismutase (20 units mL -1 ) to the phytoplankton suspension but not by filtering out the plankton cells, indicating the chemiluminescence was due to the superoxide released from C. marina (...)