Seasonality and toxin production of Pyrodinium bahamense in a Red Sea lagoon

Harmful algal blooms of the dinoflagellate Pyrodinium bahamense have caused human and economic losses in the last decades. This study, for the first time, documents a bloom of P. bahamense in the Red Sea. The alga was recurrently present in a semi-enclosed lagoon throughout nearly 2 years of observations. The highest cell densities (10⁴–10⁵ cells L⁻¹) were recorded from September to beginning of December at temperatures and salinities of ∼26–32 °C and ∼41, respectively. The peak of the bloom was recorded mid-November, before a sharp decrease in cell numbers at the end of December. Minimum concentrations in summer were at ∼10³ cells L⁻¹. A saxitoxin ELISA immunoassay of cultures and water samples confirmed the toxicity of the strain found in the Red Sea. Moreover, a gene expression analysis of the saxitoxin gene domain SxtA4 showed that transcript production peaked at the culmination of the bloom, suggesting a relation between transcript production, sudden cells increment-decline, and environmental factors.