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Pyrodinium
''Pyrodinium'' is a genus of dinoflagellates. It was first discovered in 1906 in the waters around New Providence Island in the Bahamas. ''Pyrodinium'' is a Monotypic taxon, monospecific species with two varieties, ''Pyrodinium bahamense'' var. ''compressum'' and ''Pyrodinium bahamanse ''var.'' bahamense''. ''Pyrodinium'' is well known for producing Paralytic Shellfish Toxins (PSTs), e.g. saxitoxin, and the bioluminescence that lights up the bioluminescent bays in the Bahamas, Jamaica and Puerto Rico. Habitat and ecology ''Pyrodinium bahamense'', considered the sister taxon to ''Alexandrium (dinoflagellate), Alexandrium'', is a tropical photosynthetic euryhaline species of dinoflagellates found mainly in the Atlantic Ocean.Usup, G., Ahmad, A., Matsuoka, K., Lim, P.T., Leaw, C.P., 2012. Biology, ecology and bloom dynamics of the toxic marine dinoflagellate Pyrodinium bahamense. Harmful algae 14, 301-312. It is found in marine waters that have more than 20 psu of salinity and are w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Saxitoxin
Saxitoxin (STX) is a potent neurotoxin and the best-known paralytic shellfish toxin. Ingestion of saxitoxin by humans, usually by consumption of shellfish contaminated by toxic algal blooms, is responsible for the illness known as paralytic shellfish poisoning (PSP). The term saxitoxin originates from the genus name of the butter clam ('' Saxidomus'') from which it was first isolated. But the term saxitoxin can also refer to the entire suite of more than 50 structurally related neurotoxins (known collectively as "saxitoxins") produced by protists, algae and cyanobacteria which includes saxitoxin itself (STX), neosaxitoxin (NSTX), gonyautoxins (GTX) and decarbamoylsaxitoxin (dcSTX). Saxitoxin has a large environmental and economic impact, as its presence in bivalve shellfish such as mussels, clams, oysters and scallops frequently leads to bans on commercial and recreational shellfish harvesting in many temperate coastal waters around the world including the Northeastern and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
