The life cycle of Gyrodinium instriatum (Dinophyceae) in culture*

Abstract

SUMMARYThe life cycle events of an unarmored dinoflagellate Gyrodinium instriatum Freudenthal et Lee has been investigated using clonal cultures. After the inoculation of vegetative cells into fresh medium, clumping of gametes was observed after a period of 10 days. In the clumps, a number of gametes were observed to be swimming in close contact with each other, pairing successively and then forming a plano‐zygote. This clumping behavior is considered to be useful in the performance of sexual reproduction, particularly in the event of low cell density, because it increases the chance of fusion. Gametes of this species were most often isogarnous, although apparent amsogamous fusions were occasionally observed. When planozygotes were isolated and placed in fresh medium, they enlarged their size and finally divided into two cells. The daughter cells continued to multiply by binary fission and produced vegetative cells. Thus, G. instriatum has an alternative cycle between vegetative cells and zygotes without a hypnozygote stage. However, cysts of this species were transformed from large motile cells (pre‐cyst cells) which are oblong and dorso‐ventrally flattened in shape. These mottle pre‐cyst cells have two longitudinal flagella, which may indicate that cysts of this species are of zygote origin. On the basis of these results, the relationship between zygotes and pre‐cysts of G. instriatum is discussed. Excystment was enhanced by dark and cold treatments prior to the incubation for germination experiments with a germination success rate of 26–64%. Encystment was greatly inhibited by the lack of dark and cold treatments.