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PFIESTERIA SHUMWAYAE KILLS FISH BY MICROPREDATION NOT ECOTOXIN SECRETION
Citation:
Vogelbein, W. K., V. J. Lovko, J. D. Shields, K. S. Reece, P. Mason, W. Haas, AND C C. Walker. PFIESTERIA SHUMWAYAE KILLS FISH BY MICROPREDATION NOT ECOTOXIN SECRETION. NATURE 418(6901):967-970, (2002).
Description:
Massive fish kills in mid-Atlantic USA estuaries involving several million Atlantic menhaden, Brevoortia tyrannus,have been attributed to dinoflagellates of the toxic Pfiesteria complex (TPC). Potent ichthyotoxins secreted during Pfiesteria blooms are thought to be responsible for mortality as well as for deeply penetrating, so-called "Pfiesteria-specific" skin ulcers in these fish. However, earlier investigations attributed the menhaden ulcers to funal infections, and Aphanomyces invadans, a highly pathogenic oomycete, is now considered the aetiologic agent. We recently demonstrated that A. invadans is a primary pathogen, able to elicit menhaden ulcer disease in the absence of Pfiesteria species or other environmental stressors. Thus, the role of Pfiesteria species in menhaden lesion events is now questioned.