• ALGAE
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• v.30 no.1
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• pp.35-47
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• 2015

The marine sand-dwelling dinoflagellate Polykrikos lebourae possesses obvious gold-brown pigmented plastids as well as taeniocyst-nematocyst complex structures. Despite of the presence of the visible plastids, previous attempts to establish this species in culture all failed and thus the unavailability of cultures of this species has posed a major obstacle to further detailed exploration of ecophysiology of the dinoflagellate. Here, we isolated P. lebourae from sandy sediment of an intertidal flat on Korean western coast, successfully established it in culture, and have been maintaining the stock culture over the past 3 years. Using this stock culture, we explored phagotrophy and potential prey resources of P. lebourae, growth and grazing responses of P. lebourae to different prey organisms, the effect of prey concentration on growth and grazing rates and gross growth efficiency (GGE) of P. lebourae when fed three different prey organisms, and the growth kinetics of P. lebourae under different light regimes. P. lebourae captured prey cells using a tow filament and then phagocytized them through the posterior end. The dinoflagellate was capable of ingesting a broad range of prey species varying in size, but not all prey species tested in this study supported its sustained growth. GGE of P. lebourae was extremely high at low prey concentration and moderate or low at high prey concentrations, indicating that P. lebourae grows heterotrophically at high prey concentrations but its growth seems to be more dependent on a certain growth factor or photosynthesis of plastids derived from the prey. In the presence of prey in excess, P. lebourae grew well at moderate light intensity of $40{\mu}mol$ photons $m^{-2}s^{-1}$, but did not grow at dim and high (10 or $120{\mu}mol$ photons $m^{-2}s^{-1}$) light intensities. Our results suggest that the benthic dinoflagellate P. lebourae is an obligate mixotroph, requiring both prey and light for sustained growth and survival.

• ALGAE
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• v.36 no.4
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• pp.241-261
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• 2021

Amphidinium species are amongst the most abundant benthic dinoflagellates in marine intertidal sandy ecosystems. Some of them produce a variety of bioactive compounds that have both harmful effects and pharmaceutical potential. In this study, Amphidinium cells were isolated from intertidal sand collected from the East China Sea. The two strains established were subjected to detailed examination by light, and scanning and transmission electron microscopy. The vegetative cells had a minute, irregular, and triangular-shaped epicone deflected to the left, thus fitting the description of Amphidinium sensu stricto. These strains are distinguished from other Amphidinium species by combination characteristics: (1) longitudinal flagellum inserted in the lower third of the cell; (2) icicle-shaped scales, 276 ± 17 nm in length, on the cell body surface; (3) asymmetrical hypocone with the left side longer than the right; and (4) presence of immotile cells. Therefore, they are described here as Amphidinium stirisquamtum sp. nov. The molecular tree inferred from small subunit rRNA, large subunit rRNA, and internal transcribed spacer-5.8S sequences revealed that A. stirisquamtum is grouped together with the type species of Amphidinium, A. operculatum, in a fully supported clade, but is distantly related to other Amphidinium species bearing body scale. Live A.stirisquamtum cells greatly affected the survival of rotifers and brine shrimp, their primary grazers, making them more susceptible to predation by the higher tropic level consumers in the food web. This will increase the risk of introducing toxicity, and consequently, the bioaccumulation of toxins through marine food webs.