Laboratory bioproduction of paralytic shellfish toxins in dinoflagellates

Abstract

Publisher Summary It is feasible to produce milligram quantities of Paralytic shellfish toxins (PSTs) as a supply of the pure toxins for R&D and monitoring studies using the algal culture approach. PSTs are a family of marine biotoxins produced by a number of toxic dinoflagellates involved in harmful algal blooms or red tides. They are also produced by cyanobacteria in fresh waters. These toxins cause paralytic shellfish. Among factors that significantly influence toxin productivity are species of dinoflagellates, culture designs, and nutritional and environmental conditions. Optimization of these factors to maximize the toxin yield is largely empirical at this stage because the mechanisms of action of these factors on the algal growth and toxin biosynthesis are not sufficiently known. It is evident that carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorous are crucial nutritional factors, while light, temperature, and aeration are important physical conditions that must be regulated in order to obtain high yields of PSTs. The efforts have resulted in the establishment of two culture techniques capable of producing two of the PST in a highly purified form, C2-toxin (C2T) and gonyautoxin 3 (GTX3). The combined semi-continuous culture and temporary culture described in this chapter offers a cost-effective system for laboratory bio-production of C2T. This system is amenable to scale up for mass production and modification for the production of other PSTs.