Monitoring of benthic HAB species associated with ciguatera fish poisoning in Korean coastal water

Abstract

Ciguatera fish poisoning (CFP) is the leading non-bacterial illness associated with seafood consumption worldwide, with an estimated 25,000 to 500,000 poisonings/year. The primary toxins associated with CFP are ciguatoxins (CTXs), produced by benthic/epiphytic dinoflagellates of the genus Gambierdiscus moreover, other benthic species (e.g., Ostreopsis, Coolia) are also known to be associated with CFP. Accumulation of ciguatoxins (CTXs) toxins in seafood is recognized as an important health threat to consumers in East Asian country. The ciguatera-causing harmful benthic/epiphytic dinoflagellates bloom (HAB) is generally occurs in tropical and subtropical regions. Their species appear to be undergoing range expansion in temperate area related to global climate change and have been clearly established to be present in Korea and Japan. However, monitoring of the epiphytic dinoflagellates was greatly lacked in coastal water of Korean Peninsula. Here, to assess the appearances of the epiphytic dinoflagellates in the Korean coastal water, those epiphytic dinoflagellates were monitored in Korean Peninsula including Jeju Island. In coastal water of Korean Peninsula, cell densities of Gambierdiscus spp. on macroalgae ranged from zero to 10 cells g-1and the maximum density was recorded at St.18 (Pohang guryongpo). The abundance of Ostreopsis spp. was highest on macro-algaes Chondrus ocellatus, Lomentaria catenata and Plocamiumby benthic/epiphytic dinoflagellates of the genus Gambierdiscus moreover, other benthic species (e.g., Ostreopsis, Coolia) are also known to be associated with CFP. Accumulation of ciguatoxins (CTXs) toxins in seafood is recognized as an important health threat to consumers in East Asian country. The ciguatera-causing harmful benthic/epiphytic dinoflagellates bloom (HAB) is generally occurs in tropical and subtropical regions. Their species appear to be undergoing range expansion in temperate area related to global climate change and have been clearly established to be present in Korea and Japan. However, monitoring of the epiphytic dinoflagellates was greatly lacked in coastal water of Korean Peninsula. Here, to assess the appearances of the epiphytic dinoflagellates in the Korean coastal water, those epiphytic dinoflagellates were monitored in Korean Peninsula including Jeju Island. In coastal water of Korean Peninsula, cell densities of Gambierdiscus spp. on macroalgae ranged from zero to 10 cells g-1and the maximum density was recorded at St.18 (Pohang guryongpo). The abundance of Ostreopsis spp. was highest on macro-algaes Chondrus ocellatus, Lomentaria catenata and Plocamium