Gonyaulax tamarensis

Station 5 is nearshore. Station 1 is approximately 25 miles offshore. Summer (July) 1979. After Holligan et al. (submitted) (8). Gonyaulax tamarensis var. excavata comprised a major percent of phytoplankton biomass from 0-60 m. Station 5 = 0% station 4 = 307o station 3 = 467 station 2 = 47 station 1 = 07o. 

Figure 6. Diagram of chloroplast size and shape observed using epifluorescence microscopy. Gonyaulax tamarensis var. excavata-A. grown at 266 pEin cm s l and B. at 50%, or 133 juEin cm s . ...

The discovery of the relationship of G. catenella to poisonous shellfish by Sommer, Whedon and associates led Canadian investigators Needier (3) and Prakash (4) to the discovery that Gonyaulax tamarensis (var. excavata) caused clams and scallops along the northeast coast of North America and the northeast coast of England to become poisonous. 

Figure 7. Vertical distribution of Gonyaulax tamarensis cysts in estuarine and nearshore sediments. Each point represents a 1-cm interval above specified depth. A. Two stations in Perch Pond, a shallow Cape Cod salt pond. Note the large number of cysts buried 6-11 cm deep. B. Two coastal stations near Cape Ann, Mass., both approximately 150 m deep. One has a distinct surface maximum in cyst abundance while the other has a peak at 4 cm.

Anderson, D. M. Lindquist, N. L. Sexuality and cyst formation in the dinoflagellate Gonyaulax tamarensis II. Time-course measurements of phosphorus limitation. Manuscript under review. 

Our first attempt was the feeding of commercially available [guanido-l C]-L-arginine to the cultures of Gonyaulax tamarensis (Ipswich strain). The toxin fraction was isolated and further fractionated to the pure toxins (7). Figure 1 shows an example of the elution pattern of the toxins from a Bio-Rex 70 column. A good correlation between the toxicity and radioactivity was observed. 

Table I. Incorporation ratios of precursors into the toxins and gonyautoxin-III (GTX-III) produced by Gonyaulax tamarensis...

Anderson, D.M. and Morel, F.M.M., 1978. Copper sensitivity of Gonyaulax tamarensis. Limnol. Oceanogr., 23 283-295. 

Figure 10.7. Experiments with different chelators and a wide range of trace metal concentrations demonstrate that trace metal toxicity and deficiency are determined by metal-ion activities and not total concentrations. Motility data of the dinoflagellate Gonyaulax tamarensis as a function of total copper [Cul and cupric ion activity [Cu ] for two chelators, Tris and EDTA. (Adapted from Anderson and Morel, 1978).

Prakash, A., 1967. Growth and toxicity of a marine dinoflagellate, Gonyaulax tamarensis. J. Fish Res. Bd. Canada, 24 1589-1600. 

Oshima, Y., et al., Heterogeneity of paralytic shellfish poisons. Three new toxins from cultured Gonyaulax tamarensis cells, Mya arenaria, and Saxidomus giganteus. Comp. Biochem. Physiol., 57C, 31, 1977. Shimizu, Y, DinoflageUate toxins. In Marine Natural Products Chemical and Biological Perspectives, Vol. 1, Scheuer, P.J., ed.. Academic Press, New York, p. 1, 1979. 

Shimizu, Y., et al.. Structure of gonyautoxin-11 from the East Coast toxic dinoflageUate, Gonyaulax tamarensis, J. Am. Soc. Chem., 98, 5414, 1976. 

Anderson, D.M. and Wall, D., Potential importance of benthic cysts of Gonyaulax tamarensis and G. excavata in initiating toxic dinoflagellate blooms, J. Phycol. 14, 224, 1978. 

Toxins were employed in ground or air bursting munitions, aircraft spray tanks or ground-level aerosol generators. It was widely reported a few years ago that an air gun was developed for the CIA that shot a steel dart one-fifth the thickness of a human hair. The dart was dipped in shellfish toxin (saxitoxin, Gonyaulax tamarensis or perhaps catanella) and was... 

In general, most strains of Gonyaulax tamarensis and G. catenella contain mixtures of gonyautoxins, neosaxitoxin and saxitoxin and their side-chain sulfated derivatives (32). In a few strains, however, saxitoxin or neosaxitoxin appears to be the sole toxic constituent (33). The toxin profiles in toxic shellfish basically reflect those of the causative organisms. Thus toxin components in shellfish are normally quite heterogeneous and saxitoxin constitutes only a minor portion except for a few cases (20). 

Gonyautoxin-I (3) and gonyautoxin-IV (6) were also first found in Mya arenaria and Gonyaulax tamarensis (20). Later these toxins were reported in a number of other species and in some cases they constituted the... 

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