Karenia brevis
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''Karenia brevis'' is a microscopic, single-celled, photosynthetic organism in the genus '' Karenia''. It is a marine
dinoflagellate The dinoflagellates (Greek δῖνος ''dinos'' "whirling" and Latin ''flagellum'' "whip, scourge") are a monophyletic group of single-celled eukaryotes constituting the phylum Dinoflagellata and are usually considered algae. Dinoflagellates are ...
commonly found in the waters of the
Gulf of Mexico The Gulf of Mexico ( es, Golfo de México) is an oceanic basin, ocean basin and a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean, largely surrounded by the North American continent. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of ...
. It is the organism responsible for the "Florida
red tide A harmful algal bloom (HAB) (or excessive algae growth) is an algal bloom that causes negative impacts to other organisms by production of natural phycotoxin, algae-produced toxins, mechanical damage to other organisms, or by other means. HABs are ...
s" that affect the
Gulf A gulf is a large inlet from the ocean into the landmass, typically with a narrower opening than a bay, but that is not observable in all geographic areas so named. The term gulf was traditionally used for large highly-indented navigable bodie ...
coasts of
Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...
and
Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...
in the U.S., and nearby coasts of
Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...
. ''K. brevis'' has been known to travel great lengths around the Florida peninsula and as far north as the Carolinas. Each cell has two
flagella A flagellum (; ) is a hairlike appendage that protrudes from certain plant and animal sperm cells, and from a wide range of microorganisms to provide motility. Many protists with flagella are termed as flagellates. A microorganism may have f ...
that allow it to move through the water in a spinning motion. ''K. brevis'' is unarmored, and does not contain
peridinin Peridinin is a light-harvesting apocarotenoid, a pigment associated with chlorophyll and found in the peridinin-chlorophyll-protein (PCP) light-harvesting complex in dinoflagellates, best studied in ''Amphidinium carterae''. Biological significan ...
. Cells are between 20 and 40  μm in diameter. ''K. brevis'' naturally produces a suite of potent neurotoxins collectively called
brevetoxin Brevetoxin (PbTx), or brevetoxins, are a suite of cyclic polyether compounds produced naturally by a species of dinoflagellate known as '' Karenia brevis''. Brevetoxins are neurotoxins that bind to voltage-gated sodium channels in nerve cells, le ...
s, which cause gastrointestinal and neurological problems in other organisms and are responsible for large die-offs of marine organisms and seabirds.


History

''Karenia brevis'' was named for Dr. Karen A. Steidinger in 2001, and was previously known as ''
Gymnodinium ''Gymnodinium'' is a genus of dinoflagellates, a type of marine and freshwater plankton. It is one of the few naked dinoflagellates, or species lacking armor known as cellulosic plates. Since 2000, the species which had been considered to be par ...
breve'' and ''Ptychodiscus brevis''. The classification of ''K. brevis'' has changed over time as advances in technology are made. It was first named ''Gymnodinium brevis'' in 1948, but was later changed to ''Gymnodinium breve'', which correlates with the guidelines of the International Code of Botanical Nomenclature. In 1979 it was categorized under the genus Ptychodiscus and named ''Ptychodiscus brevis'' as new research showed it fit better under this genus because of its morphology, biochemistry, and ultrastructure. Then in 1989, scientists agreed this organism should be referred to as its original name (''G. breve''). It was then reclassified and transferred to the new genus ''Karenia'', which was established at the University of Copenhagen in 2000. ''Karenia brevis'' was first identified in Florida in 1947, but anecdotal reports in the Gulf of Mexico date back to the 1530s.Lopez CB, Dortch Q, Jewett EB, Garrison D (2008). Scientific assessment of marine harmful algal blooms. Interagency Working Group on Harmful Algal Blooms, Hypoxia, and Human Health of the Joint Subcommittee on Ocean Science and Technology. Washington, D.C. Outbreaks of ''K. brevis'' have been known to occur since the Spanish explorers of the 15th and 16th centuries, as documented by Spanish explorers like Cabeza de Vaca. These explorers noted large fish kills that resemble the die offs seen in present-day due to ''K. brevis''. C.C. Davis confirmed these die offs were due to ''K. brevis'' in 1948.


Ecology and distribution

''Karenia brevis'' has an optimum temperature range of , an optimum salinity range of 25-45 Practical Salinity Units (PSU), has adapted to "low-irradiance environments," and can utilize both organic and inorganic nitrogen and phosphorus compounds to survive. In its normal environment, ''K. brevis'' will move in the direction of greater light and against the direction of gravity, which will tend to keep the organism at the surface of whatever body of water it is suspended within. The swimming speed of ''K. brevis'' is about one metre per hour and the organism can be found throughout the year in the waters of the Gulf of Mexico at concentrations of ≤ 1,000 cell per liter. Scientists have been unable to determine a definitive geographic range for ''K. brevis'' specifically because it is difficult to separate from the ten other species of ''Karenia'', but ''K. brevis'' is the most common species occurring in the Gulf of Mexico. ''Karenia brevis'' is the causative agent of
red tide A harmful algal bloom (HAB) (or excessive algae growth) is an algal bloom that causes negative impacts to other organisms by production of natural phycotoxin, algae-produced toxins, mechanical damage to other organisms, or by other means. HABs are ...
, which occurs when the organism multiplies to higher than normal concentrations. During these events the water can take on a reddish or pinkish coloration, giving these explosions in the ''K. brevis'' population the name of Florida Red Tide. These algal blooms caused by ''K. brevis'' produce brevetoxins, which can result in significant ecological impacts through the death of large numbers of marine animals and birds, to include marine mammals. Large scale fish kills are known to occur due to these Florida Red Tides caused by ''K. brevis''. Fish species through the food chain are impacted, up to and including large predatory species such as sharks, as well as species typical in human consumption. One researcher has stated that, "There is no single hypothesis that can account for blooms of  ''K. brevis''  along the west coast of Florida". However, like most algae, their occurrence and survival depends on a variety of factors in their environment including water temperature, salinity, light, and nutrients/compounds present in the water. However it is suspected that abundant use of fertilizers in surrounding coastal areas as well as fertilizer run-off from more distant farms, carried by the rivers, might have an impact on algae growth. Under favorable conditions, toxin-producing dinoflagellates such as ''K. brevis'' flourish and grow to high concentrations, an event termed a "harmful algal bloom" or a "HAB". While there are many different types of these HABs and the effects can vary, ''K. brevis'' is the causative agent of Florida Red Tides. Due to the toxin that ''K. brevis'' produces, these red tides can be detrimental to marine life and can even affect human populations along coasts where they occur.


Impact on human health and activities

In areas where ''K. brevis'' is found at normal population levels, the organism is not known to cause harm to human health. It is only at times of unchecked population growth, resulting in harmful algal blooms, when the organism is of concern to human health and activities. The same cannot be said of shellfish harvested and consumed from these algal bloom areas. The brevetoxins released by ''K. brevis'' can be found in the flesh of shellfish during Florida Red Tides, potentially causing a condition known as
Neurotoxic Shellfish Poisoning Neurotoxic shellfish poisoning (NSP) is caused by the consumption of brevetoxins, which are marine toxins produced by the dinoflagellate ''Karenia brevis'' (among several others). These toxins can produce a series of gastrointestinal and neurolog ...
(NSP) in humans. Although no recorded human deaths have occurred from NSP, the poisoning does result in nausea, vomiting and a variety of neurological symptoms. Other than NSP, the effects on human health during Florida Red Tide are thought to be limited to respiratory and eye irritation to susceptible persons on the water or close to the shore of areas impacted by the Red Tide, and irritation of skin directly exposed to Florida Red Tide waters. Persons with pre-existing respiratory conditions such as asthma, emphysema or COPD may be more susceptible to harm from the respiratory irritation caused by ''K. brevis'' and may be advised to remain away from coastal areas during periods of Florida Red Tide. The uncontrolled mass explosions of ''K. brevis'' populations resulting in Florida Red Tide also has a significant financial impact on the affected coastal areas. The primary source of revenue generation in many of the communities affected by ''K. brevis'' red tides is tourism. During periods of red tides this important source of revenue is often lost to the impacted coastal communities of Florida, often on the scale of tens of millions of dollars. This particular
protist A protist () is any eukaryotic organism (that is, an organism whose cells contain a cell nucleus) that is not an animal, plant, or fungus. While it is likely that protists share a common ancestor (the last eukaryotic common ancestor), the exc ...
is known to be harmful to humans, large fish, and other marine mammals. It has been found that the survival of scleractinian coral is negatively affected by brevetoxin. Scleractinian coral exhibits decreased rates of respiration when there is a high concentration of ''K. brevis''.


Detection and monitoring

Traditional methods for the detection of ''K. brevis'' are based on microscopy or pigment analysis. These are time-consuming, and typically require a skilled microscopist for identification. Cultivation-based identification is extremely difficult and can take several months. The traditional methods of detection and monitoring of ''K. brevis'' blooms from field measurements is labor-intensive and suffers from practical limitations on achieving real-time detection or monitoring. The "Brevebuster" is a deploy-able instrument that can be deployed on automated underwater vehicles or on stationary platforms that can optically detect the Florida red tides. A molecular, real-time PCR-based approach for sensitive and accurate detection of ''K. brevis'' cells in marine environments has therefore been developed. A real-time nucleic acid sequence-based amplification (NASBA) assay has been developed for detection of ''rbcL'' mRNA from ''K. brevis''. NASBA is sensitive, rapid and effective, and may be used as an additional or alternative method to detect and quantify ''K. brevis'' in the marine environment. Another technique for the detection of ''K. brevis'' is multiwavelength spectroscopy, which uses a model-based examination of UV-vis spectra. Methods of detection using satellite spectroscopy have also been developed. Satellite images from Medium Resolution Imaging Spectrometer (MERIS) and Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) ocean color sensor, identify ''K. brevis'' by making use of its chlorophyll fluorescence and low backscattering characteristics. In addition to methods of detection of cells of ''K. brevis'', enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and liquid chromatography mass spectrometry (LCMS) have been developed for detecting brevetoxin in shellfish, are more sensitive than the standard mouse bioassay, and as of 2008, were being considered by the Interstate Shellfish Sanitation Conference for regulatory use.


References


Further reading

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External links


Florida Marine Research Institute Page on Red Tides in Florida


{{Taxonbar, from=Q293143 Gymnodiniales Species described in 1948