The life cycle of many dinoflagellates includes at least one nonflagellated benthic stage (cyst). In the literature, the different types of dinoflagellate cysts are mainly defined based on morphological (number and type of layers in the cell wall) and functional (long- or short-term endurance) differences. These characteristics were initially thought to clearly distinguish pellicle (thin-walled...

The dinoflagellates are a diverse lineage of microbial eukaryotes. Dinoflagellate monophyly and their position within the group Alveolata are well established. However, phylogenetic relationships between dinoflagellate orders remain unresolved. To date, only a limited number of dinoflagellate studies have used a broad taxon sample with more than two concatenated markers. This lack of resolution...

Members of the parasitic dinoflagellate genus lethally infect other marine dinoflagellates, including red tide forming and toxin-producing species. The known geographical distribution of sp. parasites in costal waters of the northern hemisphere is more likely reflecting a lack of information from other areas rather than the actual picture. We investigated the presence of sp. parasites infecting...

The superfamily of light-harvesting complex (LHC) proteins is comprised of proteins with diverse functions in light-harvesting and photoprotection. LHC proteins bind chlorophyll (Chl) and carotenoids and include a family of LHCs that bind Chl a and c. Dinophytes (dinoflagellates) are predominantly Chl c binding algal taxa, bind peridinin or fucoxanthin as the primary carotenoid, and can possess...

Dinoflagellates in marine benthic habitats living epiphytically on macroalgae are an important but highly understudied group of protists. Many produce toxins that can have severe economic impacts on marine-based economies, and improved monitoring tools are required to enhance the management of toxin-related hazards. We analysed the distribution and diversity of epibenthic dinoflagellates inhabi...

A major impediment to understanding the seemingly random occurrence of ciguatera toxicity is uncertainty regarding the field ecology of benthic dinoflagellates that introduce toxins into the coral reef food web. Although broad generalizations have been made, past studies have often yielded contradictory results, particularly between ecological patterns documented in the Pacific versus the Carib...

The dinoflagellate cyst records in sediments from New Bedford Harbor and Apponagansett Bay demonstrate sensitivity to environmental change caused by human activity in the watersheds over the last 500 years. Changes in the species richness, as well as absolute and relative abundance of dinoflagellate cyst taxa reflect recent periods of development around the estuaries. Cyst taxa sensitive to the...

Dinophysis acuminata cells were isolated from Narragansett Bay water samples in June 2005 using flow cytometry. Dinoflagellate-specific PCR primers were used to isolate small-subunit rRNA (18S rRNA), mitochondrial cytochrome b (cob), and cytochrome c oxidase I (cox1) genes and the encoded cDNAs. Maximum-likelihood analysis of a concatenated data set of ribosomal DNA and cDNA sequences of cob an...

Citation: Wasmund N (2017) The Diatom/Dinoflagellate Index as an Indicator of Ecosystem Changes in the Baltic Sea. 2. Historical Data for Use in Determination of Good Environmental Status. Front. Mar. Sci. 4:153. doi: 10.3389/fmars.2017.00153 The Diatom/Dinoflagellate Index as an Indicator of Ecosystem Changes in the Baltic Sea. 2. Historical Data for Use in Determination of Good Environmental ...

Kryptoperidinium foliaceum is a binucleate dinoflagellate that contains an endosymbiont nucleus of diatom origin. However, it is unknown whether the binucleate condition is permanent or not and how the diatom nucleus behaves during the life history processes. In this sense, it is also unknown if there is a sexual cycle or a resting stage during the life history of this species, two key aspects ...