Abstract
The Southern Ocean is one of the most productive ecosystems in the world. It is an area heavily dependent on marine primary production and serving as a feeding ground for numerous seabirds and marine mammals. Therefore, the phytoplankton composition and presence of toxic species are of crucial importance. Fifteen monoclonal strains of Pseudo-nitzschia subcurvata, a diatom species endemic to the Southern Ocean, were established, which were characterized by morphological and molecular data and then analysed for toxin content. The neurotoxins domoic acid and iso-domoic acid C were present in three of the strains, which is a finding that represents the first evidence of these toxins in strains from Antarctic waters. Toxic phytoplankton in Antarctic waters are still largely unexplored, and their effects on the ecosystem are not well understood. Considering P. subcurvata’s prevalence throughout the Southern Ocean, these results highlight the need for further investigations of the harmful properties on the Antarctic phytoplankton community as well as the presence of the toxins in the Antarctic food web, especially in the light of a changing climate.
Highlights
The unique Antarctic marine ecosystem is fueled by phytoplankton, diatoms, capturing energy from the sun
Nothing is known about the toxicity of the genus in Antarctic waters [2,3], whereas Pseudonitzschia is a known producer of the neurotoxin domoic acid (DA) in temperate and tropical waters, causing amnesic shellfish poisoning in humans [1]
The finding of both DA and domoic acid C (DA-IC) in three Antarctic strains of P. subcurvata represents the first evidence of these toxins in Antarctic phytoplankton strains (Figure 4, Table 1)
Summary
The unique Antarctic marine ecosystem is fueled by phytoplankton, diatoms, capturing energy from the sun. DA accumulates in a wide range of planktonic and benthic organisms across the marine food web, such as krill, copepods, fish, and bivalves [1]. In marine mammals, this can e.g., result in acute and chronic poisoning, with effects such as reduced reproduction, seizures, and death [4]. Worldwide monitoring efforts have linked several toxic Pseudo-nitzschia blooms to unusual, large-scale mortality events in a range of marine vertebrates including sea lions, whales, and seabirds [4,5,6]. In addition to DA, eight different DA isomers (A–H) exist, of which three (DA-IA, DA-IB, and DA-IC) are found in Pseudo-nitzschia [1,10,11]
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