Control of Toxic Marine Dinoflagellate Blooms by Serial Parasitic Killers

作者：Aurélie Chambouvet, Pascal Morin, Dominique Marie, Laure Guillou · 发表于：Science · 年份：2008 · DOI：10.1126/science.1164387 · 被引用次数：334 · 研究领域：Protist diversity and phylogeny、Microbial Community Ecology and Physiology、Environmental DNA in Biodiversity Studies

The marine dinoflagellates commonly responsible for toxic red tides are parasitized by other dinoflagellate species. Using culture-independent environmental ribosomal RNA sequences and fluorescence markers, we identified host-specific infections among several species. Each parasitoid produces 60 to 400 offspring, leading to extraordinarily rapid control of the host's population. During 3 consecutive years of observation in a natural estuary, all dinoflagellates observed were chronically infected, and a given host species was infected by a single genetically distinct parasite year after year. Our observations in natural ecosystems suggest that although bloom-forming dinoflagellates may escape control by grazing organisms, they eventually succumb to parasite attack.