Biotechnological significance of toxic marine dinoflagellates

Dinoflagellates are microalgae that are associated with the production of many marine toxins. These toxins poison fish, other wildlife and humans. Dinoflagellate-associated human poisonings include paralytic shellfish poisoning, diarrhetic shellfish poisoning, neurotoxic shellfish poisoning, and cig...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Biotechnology advances 2007-03, Vol.25 (2), p.176-194
Main Authors: Camacho, F. Garcia, Rodríguez, J. Gallardo, Mirón, A. Sánchez, García, M.C. Cerón, Belarbi, E.H., Chisti, Y., Grima, E. Molina
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Algal toxins
Animals
Biological and medical sciences
Bioreactors
Biotechnology
Biotechnology - instrumentation
Biotechnology - methods
Ciguatera fish poisoning
Ciguatera Poisoning - diagnosis
Diarrhea - chemically induced
Diarrhetic shellfish poisoning
Dinoflagellates
Dinoflagellida - classification
Dinoflagellida - metabolism
Dinoflagellida - physiology
Food Analysis - methods
Food Analysis - standards
Foodborne Diseases - diagnosis
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Humans
Marine toxins
Marine Toxins - analysis
Marine Toxins - toxicity
Neurotoxic shellfish poisoning
Paralysis - chemically induced
Paralytic shellfish poisoning
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Summary:Dinoflagellates are microalgae that are associated with the production of many marine toxins. These toxins poison fish, other wildlife and humans. Dinoflagellate-associated human poisonings include paralytic shellfish poisoning, diarrhetic shellfish poisoning, neurotoxic shellfish poisoning, and ciguatera fish poisoning. Dinoflagellate toxins and bioactives are of increasing interest because of their commercial impact, influence on safety of seafood, and potential medical and other applications. This review discusses biotechnological methods of identifying toxic dinoflagellates and detecting their toxins. Potential applications of the toxins are discussed. A lack of sufficient quantities of toxins for investigational purposes remains a significant limitation. Producing quantities of dinoflagellate bioactives requires an ability to mass culture them. Considerations relating to bioreactor culture of generally fragile and slow-growing dinoflagellates are discussed. Production and processing of dinoflagellates to extract bioactives, require attention to biosafety considerations as outlined in this review.
ISSN:0734-9750
1873-1899
DOI:10.1016/j.biotechadv.2006.11.008