Resting Cyst Distribution and Molecular Identification of the Harmful Dinoflagellate Margalefidinium polykrikoides (Gymnodiniales, Dinophyceae) in Lampung Bay, Sumatra, Indonesia

• Published in: Frontiers in microbiology Vol. 10; p. 306
• Main Authors: Thoha, Hikmah, Muawanah, Bayu Intan, Mariana D, Rachman, Arief, Sianturi, Oksto Ridho, Sidabutar, Tumpak, Iwataki, Mitsunori, Takahashi, Kazuya, Avarre, Jean-Christophe, Masseret, Estelle
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland Frontiers Media 21.02.2019; Frontiers Media S.A
• Subjects: Biodiversity and Ecology; dinoflagellate; Earth Sciences; Environmental Sciences; harmful algal blooms; Indonesia; Life Sciences; Margalefidinium polykrikoides; Microbiology; Microbiology and Parasitology; Oceanography; resting and hyaline cysts; Sciences of the Universe; resting and hyaline cysts; Margalefidinium polykrikoides; dinoflagellate; harmful algal blooms; Indonesia
• ISSN: 1664-302X; 1664-302X
• DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2019.00306

, an unarmored dinoflagellate, was suspected to be the causative agent of the harmful algal blooms - associated with massive fish mortalities - that have occurred continually in Lampung Bay, Indonesia, since the first bloom event in October 2012. In this study, after examination of the morphology of putative -like cysts sampled in bottom sediments, cyst bed distribution of this harmful species was explored in the inner bay. Sediment samples showed that resting cysts, including several morphotypes previously reported as , were most abundant on the northern coast of Lampung Bay, ranging from 20.6 to 645.6 cysts g dry sediment. Molecular phylogeny inferred from LSU rDNA revealed that the so-called Mediterranean ribotype was detected in the sediment while motile cells, four-cell chain forming in bloom conditions, belonged to the American-Malaysian ribotype. Moreover, hyaline cysts, exclusively in the form of four-cell chains, were also recorded. Overall, these results unequivocally show that the species is abundantly present, in the form of vegetative cells, hyaline and resting cysts in an Indonesian area.