Aquatic Sciences Meeting, Albuquerque 2001

SS20 Biological Control of Harmful Algal Blooms: Role of Grazers, Parasites, Viruses and Bacteria

Date: Monday, February 12, 2001, Time: 11:15:00 AM

Location: Cochiti/Taos

Pereyra, G, L, Center of Marine Biotechnology, University of Maryland Biotechnology Institute, Baltimore, MD, USA, pereyra@umbi.umd.edu

Colwell, R, R, Center of Marine Biotechnology, Department of Cell and Molecular Biology, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, USA, colwell@umbi.umd.edu

BACTERIAL AND VIRAL EFFECTS ON GROWTH OF PROROCENTRUM MINIMUM

Prorocentrum minimum cultures maintained in the laboratory vary in their growth characteristics, when a bacterium or virus is added to the culture. A virus isolated from the Chesapeake Bay, following a bloom of Prorocentrum minimum, has been found to affect its growth, i.e., reduce the number of cells of P. minimum by 50%. Serial passage of the virus in P. minimum cultures was consistently associated with reduced numbers of cells in culture and episodically with culture death. A chemiluminescent probe has been prepared from a 700 bp sequence of the viral DNA. Conversely, a bacterium isolated from the P. minimum culture increased P. minimum cell counts in laboratory cultures. Five different bacterial isolates from P. minimum cultures were tested for their effect on cell growth. An axenic dinoflagellate culture showed increased growth when inoculated with some of the bacterial cultures, but not all. The 16S sequence analysis was determined for the bacterium most effective in causing an increase in P. minimum cell counts. It is concluded that viruses and bacteria can influence growth characteristics of the dinoflagellate P. minimum.

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Aquatic Sciences Meeting, Albuquerque 2001

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