Abstract
Ciguatera Poisoning (CP) is a human food-borne poisoning that has been known since ancient times to be found mainly in tropical and subtropical areas, which occurs when fish or very rarely invertebrates contaminated with ciguatoxins (CTXs) are consumed. The genus of marine benthic dinoflagellates Gambierdiscus produces CTX precursors. The presence of Gambierdiscus species in a region is one indicator of CP risk. The Canary Islands (North Eastern Atlantic Ocean) is an area where CP cases have been reported since 2004. In the present study, samplings for Gambierdiscus cells were conducted in this area during 2016 and 2017. Gambierdiscus cells were isolated and identified as G. australes, G. excentricus, G. caribaeus, and G. belizeanus by molecular analysis. In this study, G. belizeanus is reported for the first time in the Canary Islands. Gambierdiscus isolates were cultured, and the CTX-like toxicity of forty-one strains was evaluated with the neuroblastoma cell-based assay (neuro-2a CBA). G. excentricus exhibited the highest CTX-like toxicity (9.5–2566.7 fg CTX1B equiv. cell−1) followed by G. australes (1.7–452.6.2 fg CTX1B equiv. cell−1). By contrast, the toxicity of G. belizeanus was low (5.6 fg CTX1B equiv. cell−1), and G. caribaeus did not exhibit CTX-like toxicity. In addition, for the G. belizeanus strain, the production of CTXs was evaluated with a colorimetric immunoassay and an electrochemical immunosensor resulting in G. belizeanus producing two types of CTX congeners (CTX1B and CTX3C series congeners) and can contribute to CP in the Canary Islands.
Highlights
Gambierdiscus [1] species are marine benthic dinoflagellates that produce secondary metabolites such as ciguatoxins (CTXs) and maitotoxins (MTXs)
The present study reports for the first time G. belizeanus in the Canary Islands
The strains of this study are well defined within their respective clades for G. australes, G. excentricus, G. caribaeus, or G. belizeanus with bt/pp values of 96/1.00, 100/1.00, 98/0.92, and 96/1.00, respectively
Summary
Gambierdiscus [1] species are marine benthic dinoflagellates that produce secondary metabolites such as ciguatoxins (CTXs) and maitotoxins (MTXs). CTXs are lipid-soluble polyethers [2], which are introduced in food webs when filter feeders and herbivorous organisms eat free-swimming microalgal cells, macroalgae, or substrates that are colonized by benthic dinoflagellates [3]. CTXs are transferred, transformed, and bioaccumulated through the food webs. Toxins 2020, 12, 692 the consumption of CTX-contaminated fish or very rarely some invertebrates (crustaceans, gastropods, echinoderms and bivalves) and suffer a disease known as Ciguatera Poisoning (CP) [4]. A few hours after the consumption of CTXs, gastrointestinal symptoms appear, typically followed by cardiac and neurological disorders. The neurological symptoms can last weeks, months, and even years [7]
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