Pfiesteria

Pfiesteria
Scientific classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Chromalveolata
Phylum: Dinoflagellata
Class: Dinophyceae
Order: Phytodiniales
Genus: Pfiesteria
Species

Pfiesteria piscicida
Pfiesteria shumwayae

Pfiesteria is a genus of heterotrophic dinoflagellates that has been associated with harmful algal blooms and fish kills. Pfiesteria complex organisms (PCOs) were claimed to be responsible for large fish kills in the 1980s and 1990s on the coast of North Carolina and in tributaries of the Chesapeake Bay. In reaction to the toxic outbreaks, six states along the US east coast have initiated a monitoring program to allow for rapid response in the case of new outbreaks and to better understand the factors involved in Pfiesteria toxicity and outbreaks.[1] New molecular detection methods have revealed that Pfiesteria has a worldwide distribution.[2]

Discovery and naming

Pfiesteria was discovered in 1988 by North Carolina State University researchers JoAnn Burkholder and Ed Noga. The genus was named after Lois Ann Pfiester (1936–1992), a biologist who did much of the early research on dinoflagellates: "“The new family and genus are named in honor of the late Dr. Lois A. Pfiester, a pioneer in describing and unravelling the sexual life cycles of freshwater dinoflagellates and who unselfishly shared her knowledge, expertise, and enthusiasm with all who asked for assistance.”.[3] An in-depth story of the discovery can be found in And the Waters Turned to Blood (1998) by Rodney Barker.[4]

Species

There are two species described, Pfiesteria piscicida (from Latin Pisces, fish; cida, killer.[3]), which has a complex life cycle [5] and the species Pfiesteria shumwayae, also with a complex life cycle.[6] The type locality of Pfiesteria piscicida is Pamlico River Estuary, North Carolina, U.S.A.

Feeding strategy

Early research resulted in the hypothesis that Pfiesteria acts as an "ambush predator" and utilizes a "hit and run" feeding strategy by releasing a toxin that paralyzes the respiratory systems of susceptible fish, such as menhaden, thus causing death by suffocation. It then consumes the tissue sloughed off its dead prey.[7]

Controversy

Pfiesteria biology and the role of PCOs in killing fish and sickening humans have been subject to several controversies and conflicting research results over the last few years.[8][9]

In fiction

See also

References

  1. Magnien RE (2001). "State monitoring activities related to Pfiesteria-like organisms". Environ. Health Perspect. (Brogan &#38). 109 Suppl 5: 711–4. doi:10.2307/3454918. JSTOR 3454918. PMC 1240602. PMID 11677180.
  2. Rublee PA, Remington DL, Schaefer EF, Marshall MM (2005). "Detection of the Dinozoans Pfiesteria piscicida and P. shumwayae: a review of detection methods and geographic distribution". J. Eukaryot. Microbiol. 52 (2): 83–9. doi:10.1111/j.1550-7408.2005.05202007.x. PMID 15817112.
  3. 1 2 Steidinger, K.A., Burkholder, J.M., Glasgow H.B.Jr., Hobbs, C.W., Garrett, J.K., Truby, E.W., Noga, E.J. and Smith, S.A. 1996. Pfiesteria piscicida gen. et sp. nov. (Pfiesteriaceae fam. nov.), a new toxic dinoflagellate with a complex life cycle and behavior. J. Phycol. 32, 157-164.
  4. Barker, Rodney (1998). And the Waters Turned to Blood. New York: Simon & Schuster. ISBN 0-684-83845-1.
  5. Parrow, M. W. & Burkholder, J. M. 2004. The sexual life cycles of Pfiesteria piscicida and cryptoperidiniopsoids (dinophyceae). J. Phycol. 40, 664–673 (2004).
  6. Parrow, M. W. & Burkholder, J. M. 2003b. Reproduction and sexuality in Pfiesteria shumwayae (Dinophyceae). J. Phycol. 39: 697–711.
  7. Eichhorn, Susan E.; Raven, Peter H.; Evert, Ray Franklin (2005). Biology of plants. New York: W.H. Freeman and Company. p. 205. ISBN 0-7167-1007-2.
  8. "Pfiesteria: Frequently Asked Questions". Archived from the original on 2007-09-28. Retrieved 2008-01-06.
  9. Miller TR, Belas R (2003). "Pfiesteria piscicida, P. shumwayae, and other Pfiesteria-like dinoflagellates". Res. Microbiol. 154 (2): 85–90. doi:10.1016/S0923-2508(03)00027-5. PMID 12648722.
  10. Peglar MT, Nerad TA, Anderson OR, Gillevet PM (2004). "Identification of amoebae implicated in the life cycle of Pfiesteria and Pfiesteria-like dinoflagellates". J. Eukaryot. Microbiol. 51 (5): 542–52. doi:10.1111/j.1550-7408.2004.tb00290.x. PMID 15537089.
  11. Burkholder JM, Gordon AS, Moeller PD, et al. (2005). "Demonstration of toxicity to fish and to mammalian cells by Pfiesteria species: comparison of assay methods and strains". Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 102 (9): 3471–6. doi:10.1073/pnas.0500168102. PMC 552923. PMID 15728353.
  12. Vogelbein WK, Lovko VJ, Shields JD, et al. (2002). "Pfiesteria shumwayae kills fish by micropredation not exotoxin secretion". Nature 418 (6901): 967–70. doi:10.1038/nature01008. PMID 12198545.
  13. Moeller PD, Beauchesne KR, Huncik KM, Davis WC, Christopher SJ, Riggs-Gelasco P, Gelasco AK (2007). "Metal complexes and free radical toxins produced by Pfiesteria piscicida". Environ. Sci. Technol. 41 (4): 1166–72. doi:10.1021/es0617993. PMID 17598275.
  14. Greenberg DR, Tracy JK, Grattan LM (1998). "A critical review of the Pfiesteria hysteria hypothesis". Md Med J 47 (3): 133–6. PMID 9601200.
  15. CDC National Conference on Pfiesteria: From Biology to Public Health October 18–20, 2000, Atlanta GA
  16. Collier DN, Burke WA (2002). "Pfiesteria complex organisms and human illness". South. Med. J. 95 (7): 720–6. doi:10.1097/00007611-200295070-00012. PMID 12144078.
  17. Morris JG, Grattan LM, Wilson LA, et al. (2006). "Occupational exposure to pfiesteria species in estuarine waters is not a risk factor for illness". Environ. Health Perspect. 114 (7): 1038–43. doi:10.1289/ehp.8627. PMC 1513342. PMID 16835056.
  18. Shoemaker RC, Lawson W (2007). "Pfiesteria in estuarine waters: the question of health risks". Environ. Health Perspect. 115 (3): A126–7. doi:10.1289/ehp.115-a126. PMC 1849899. PMID 17431460.
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