• The Sea:JOURNAL OF THE KOREAN SOCIETY OF OCEANOGRAPHY
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• v.7 no.4
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• pp.2221-2221
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• 2002

The first laboratory culture of host-parasite system of Prorocentrum minimum- Amoebophrya sp. was established by single cell isolation method. Here, we report the life cycle stages of the parasitic dinoflagellate. Amoebophrya sp. of the red tide dinoflagellate P. minimum as observed by light and epifluorescence microscopy. Infections developed inside the nucleus of P. minimum. The trophont developed to occupy almost all the intracellular space of the host at its late stage. The fully developed trophont finally ruptured through the host cell. “Vermiform stage”, the free-swimming extracellular lift cycle stage is followed by another stage for the sudden release of many individual dinospores. Our laboratory strain of the host-parasite system for P. minimum, a causative species fur the huge red tides in spring and summer in Korean coastal waters, could be a useful living material for the in situ biological control of harmful algal blooms.

• The Sea:JOURNAL OF THE KOREAN SOCIETY OF OCEANOGRAPHY
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• v.7 no.4
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• pp.221-225
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• 2002

The first laboratory culture of host-parasite system of Prorocentrum minimum- Amoebophrya sp. was established by single cell isolation method. Here, we report the life cycle stages of the parasitic dinoflagellate. Amoebophrya sp. of the red tide dinoflagellate P. minimum as observed by light and epifluorescence microscopy. Infections developed inside the nucleus of P. minimum. The trophont developed to occupy almost all the intracellular space of the host at its late stage. The fully developed trophont finally ruptured through the host cell. “Vermiform stage”, the free-swimming extracellular lift cycle stage is followed by another stage for the sudden release of many individual dinospores. Our laboratory strain of the host-parasite system for P. minimum, a causative species fur the huge red tides in spring and summer in Korean coastal waters, could be a useful living material for the in situ biological control of harmful algal blooms.

• The Sea:JOURNAL OF THE KOREAN SOCIETY OF OCEANOGRAPHY
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• v.7 no.3
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• pp.181-194
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• 2002

Parasitism is a one-sided relationship between two organisms in which one benefits at the expense of the other. Parasitic dinoflagellates, particularly species of Amoebophrya, have long been thought to be a potential biological agent for controlling harmful algal bloom(HAB). Amoebophrya infections have been reported for over 40 species representing more than 24 dinoflagellate genera including a few toxic species. Parasitic dinoflagellates Amoebophrya spp. have a relatively simple life cycle consisting of an infective dispersal stage (dinospore), an intracellular growth stage(trophont), and an extracellular reproductive stage(vermiform). Biology of dinospores such as infectivity, survival, and ability to successfully infect host cells differs among dinoflagellate host-parasite systems. There are growing reports that Amoebophrya spp.(previously, collectively known as Amoebophrya ceratii) exhibit the strong host specificity and would be a species complex composed of several host-specific taxa, based on the marked differences in host-parasite biology, cross infection, and molecular genetic data. Dinoflagellates become reproductively incompetent and are eventually killed by the parasite once infected. During the infection cycle of the parasite, the infected host exhibits ecophysiologically different patterns from those of uninfected host in various ways. Photosynthetic performance in autotrophic dinoflagellates can be significantly altered following infection by parasitic dinoflagellate Amoebophrya, with the magnitude of the effects over the infection cycle of the parasite depending on the site of infection. Parasitism by the parasitic dinoflagellate Amoebophrya could have significant impacts on host behavior such as diel vertical migration. Parasitic dinoflagellates may not only stimulate rapid cycling of dissolved organic materials and/or trace metals but also would repackage the relatively large sized host biomass into a number of smaller dinospores, thereby leading to better retention of host's material and energy within the microbial loop. To better understand the roles of parasites in plankton ecology and harmful algal dynamics, further research on a variety of dinoflagellate host-parasite systems is needed.

• ALGAE
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• v.19 no.3
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• pp.201-205
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• 2004

An ectoparasitic din flagellate infesting plank tonic chaetognath, Sagitta crassa Tokioka was found, for the first time, from Korean coasts. In order to identify the species, we investigated detailed morphology of the din flagellate using Nomarski interference optics as well as epifluorescent microscopes. The parasitic din flagellate consists of an oval to rod-shaped cell with a peduncle, by which the organism attaches to the host. The cell is covered with polygonal thecal plates. The nucleus displays two different shapes according to cell cycle stages: in young trophont the nucleus is elongated and shows typical din flagellate nucleus (dinokaryon), while in matured trophont, the nucleus is dome-shaped and non-dinokaryotic. The peduncle is variable in length and is ornamented with the longitudinal striations. All these characteristics point to identity that the ectoparasitic din flagellate infecting Sagitta crassa in Korean coasts is Oodinium inlandicum Horiguchi et Ohtsuka, originally described from the Seto Inland Sea of Japan. Relationship between prevalence and host sizes differed from those in Japan.

• The Sea:JOURNAL OF THE KOREAN SOCIETY OF OCEANOGRAPHY
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• v.15 no.1
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• pp.36-40
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• 2010

Ballast water has been known as a major vector for global dispersal of toxic dinoflagellates and other microalgae. In this study, biodiversity in ships’ ballast water was examined using a dinoflagellate-oriented PCR primer set and species-specific real-time PCR. While motile dinoflagellates could be observe at very low cell densities by light microscopy,a wide range of dinoflagellate taxa including parasitic and phototrophic pico-dinoflagellates as well as harmful species to marine fish/shellfish was detected when techniques for cloning/sequencing of SSU rDNA of sample cells were used. Present result suggests that molecular methods including species-specific PCR primers may offer rapid and accurate detection of invasive species in ballast water.

• ALGAE
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• v.22 no.4
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• pp.287-295
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• 2007

Infection of free-living dinoflagellates by endoparasitic dinoflagellates of the genus Amoebophrya are thought to have significant impacts on host population dynamics and have long been proposed to be a potential biological agent for controlling harmful algal bloom (HAB). To understand the impact of Amoebophrya on particular host species, however, it is necessary to quantify aspects the parasites life cycle. Here we used cultures of Amoebophryahost systems from Jinhae Bay, Korea to determine, parasite generation time, and dinospore survival and infectivity. The proportion of host cells infected by Amoebophrya sp. changed sharply from 5% to 87% with increasing dinospore:host inoculation ratios. In the absence of H. triquetra, most free-living dinospores died within 72 hours and their ability to infect host cells decreased remarkably in a day. The relatively short free-living phase of Amoebophrya suggests that the spread of infections is most likely to occur during seasons of high host abundance, as that is when dinospores have the greatest chance of encountering host cells. Infection of host cells inoculated with dinospores during the day was higher than when inoculated during the night, suggesting that infection rates might be related to environmental light conditions and/or diurnal biological rhythm of host species. Total generation times of parasite strains from a thecate dinoflagellate Heterocapsa triquetra were nearly the same regardless of dinospore:host inoculation ratios, representing 54 ± 0.5 h in a 1:1 ratio and 55 ± 1.2 h in a 20:1 ratio. Dinospore production of Amoebophrya sp. infecting Heterocapsa triquetra was estimated to be 125 dinospores per a strain of Amoebophrya sp. There is a growing need to maintain a variety of host-parasite systems in culture and to examine their autecology under various environmental conditions. Such studies would be very helpful in understanding ecological role of these parasites, their overlooked importance in the flow of material and energy in marine ecosystem, and their practical use as biological control agents applied directly to areas affected by HAB.

• The Sea:JOURNAL OF THE KOREAN SOCIETY OF OCEANOGRAPHY
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• v.12 no.4
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• pp.359-369
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• 2007

Amoebophrya is an obligate endoparasitic eukaryotic dinoflagellate infecting host species and eventually killing them within a short period. Because of its host specificity and significant impacts on population dynamics of host species, it has long been proposed to be a potential biological agent for controlling harmful algal bloom (HAB). For several decades, the difficulties of culturing host - parasite systems have been a great obstacle to further research on the biology of Amoebophrya but recent success of several culture systems reactivates this research field. In this study, as a preliminary work for understanding the impacts of Amoebophrya on the population dynamics of host species, semimonthly occurrence of infected host dinoflagellates by Amoebophrya spp. had been observed in Jinhae Bay for two years and with a host - parasite system cultivated, host specificity of Amoebophrya spp. on several dinoflagellates was tested. Amoebophrya spp. were observed in the cellular organelle and cytoplasm of several species including Akashiwo sanguinea, Ceratium fusus, Dinophysis acuminata, Heterocapsa triquetra, Oblea sp., Prorocentrum minimum, P. triestinum, Scrippsiella spinifera, and S. trochoidea. Among them two host - parasite systems for an athecate dinoflagellate, A. sanguinea, and for a thecate dinoflagellate, H. triquetra, had been able to be successfully established as laboratary cultures. Cross-infection tests for 6 species of dinoflagellates in which Amoebophrya was observed or had been reported to exist confirmed high preference for host species of the parasite. Through the continuous research on Amoebophrya occurring in Korean coastal waters, we need to maintain various host - parasite culture systems, which will be very helpful for understanding its ecological role in marine food webs and for applying the species to biologically control harmful algal blooms.

• ALGAE
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• v.33 no.1
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• pp.1-19
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• 2018

Members of the family Parviluciferaceae (Alveolata, Perkinsozoa) are the well-known dinoflagellate parasitoids along with Amoebophrya ceratii species complex and parasitic chytrid Dinomyces arenysensis and contain six species across three genera (i.e., Parvilucifera infectans, P. sinerae, P. rostrata, and P. corolla, Dinovorax pyriformis, and Snorkelia prorocentri) so far. Among Parvilucifera species, the two species, P. infectans and P. sinerae, are very similar or almost identical each other morphologically and genetically, thereby make it difficult to distinguish between the two. The only main difference between the two species known so far is the number of sporangium wall (i.e., 2 layers in P. infectans vs. 3 layers in P. sinerae). During sampling in Masan bay, Korea during the spring season of 2015, the dinoflagellate Akashiwo sanguinea cells infected by the parasite Parvilucifera were observed and this host-parasite system was established in culture. Using this culture, its morphological and ultrastructural features with special emphasis on the variation in the number of sporangium wall over developmental times, were investigated. In addition, the sequences of rDNA regions and ${\beta}-tubulin$ genes were determined. The result clearly demonstrated that the trophocyte at 36 h was covered with 4 layers, and then outer layer of the sporocyte gradually degraded over time, resulting in wall structure consisting of two layers, with even processes being detached from 7-day-old sporangium with smooth surface, indicating that the difference in the number of layers seems not to be an appropriate ultrastructural character for distinguishing P. infectans and P. sinerae. While pairwise comparison of the large subunit rDNA sequences showed 100% identity among P. infectans / P. sinerae species complex, genetic differences were found in the small subunit (SSU) rDNA sequences but the differences were relatively small (11-13 nucleotides) compared with those (190-272 nucleotides) found among the rest of Parvilucifera species (P. rostrata and P. corolla). Those small differences in SSU rDNA sequences of P. infectans / P. sinerae species complex may reflect the variations within inter- strains of the same species from different geographical areas. Taken together, all morphological, ultrastructural, and molecular data from the present study suggest that they are the same species.