Proliferation of dinoflagellates: blooming or bleaching

The dinoflagellates, a diverse sister group of the malaria parasites, are the major agents causing harmful algal blooms and are also the symbiotic algae of corals. Dinoflagellate nuclei differ significantly from other eukaryotic nuclei by having extranuclear spindles, no nucleosomes and enormous gen...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:BioEssays 2005-07, Vol.27 (7), p.730-740
Main Authors: Wong, Joseph T.Y., Kwok, Alvin C.M.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animals
Biological Evolution
Cell Division
Cell Size
Chloroplasts - metabolism
Chromosomes - metabolism
Circadian Rhythm
Cyclins - metabolism
Cytoskeleton - metabolism
Dinoflagellida - genetics
Dinoflagellida - physiology
DNA, Complementary - metabolism
G1 Phase
Genome
Histones - chemistry
Microtubules - metabolism
Mitosis
Models, Biological
Spindle Apparatus
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Summary:The dinoflagellates, a diverse sister group of the malaria parasites, are the major agents causing harmful algal blooms and are also the symbiotic algae of corals. Dinoflagellate nuclei differ significantly from other eukaryotic nuclei by having extranuclear spindles, no nucleosomes and enormous genomes in liquid crystal states. These cytological characteristics were related to the acquisition of prokaryotic genes during evolution (hence Mesokaryotes), which may also account for the biochemical diversity and the relatively slow growth rates of dinoflagellates. The fact that the proliferation of many dinoflagellates is sensitive to turbulence may be due to the physiological requirements of the genome's liquid crystal states. Mechanical stress and anti‐microtubule drugs induce cell cycle arrest mainly in G1, implicating a role for the permanent cortical microtubular cytoskeleton in mechanotransduction. The cell cycles of photosynthetic dinoflagellates are also gated by the circadian rhythm, with cell division occurring mainly at the end of the dark phase. Cell growth and the biosynthesis of many toxins occur during the light phase, corresponding to G1 in the cell cycle. The dinoflagellates also embody several options for coupling cell cycle progression to cell growth, enabling them to make the best use of available resources and possibly preparing them for a symbiotic existence. BioEssays 27:730–740, 2005. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
ISSN:0265-9247
1521-1878
DOI:10.1002/bies.20250