Effects of bioactive extracellular compounds and paralytic shellfish toxins produced by Alexandrium minutum on growth and behaviour of juvenile great scallops Pecten maximus

Type Article
Date 2017-03
Language English
Author(s) Borcier Elodie1, Morvezen Romain, Boudry PierreORCID1, 2, Miner Philippe1, Charrier Gregory, Laroche Jean2, Hegaret HeleneORCID2
Affiliation(s) 1 : IFREMER, Ctr Bretagne, LEMAR, UMR 6539 UBO CNRS IRD Ifremer, F-29280 Plouzane, France.
2 : Inst Univ Europeen Mer, LEMAR, UMR 6539 UBO CNRS IRD Ifremer, Technopole Brest Iroise, Plouzane, France.
Source Aquatic Toxicology (0166-445X) (Elsevier Science Bv), 2017-03 , Vol. 184 , P. 142-154
DOI 10.1016/j.aquatox.2017.01.009
WOS© Times Cited 47
Keyword(s) Harmful Algal Bloom (HAB), Alexandrium minutum, Pecten maximus, Paralytic Shellfish Toxins (PST), Extracellular compounds, Behaviour, Histology
Abstract Dinoflagellates of the genus Alexandrium are a major cause of harmful algal blooms (HABs) that have increasingly disrupted coastal ecosystems for the last several decades. Microalgae from the genus Alexandrium are known to produce paralytic shellfish toxins (PST) but also bioactive extracellular compounds (BEC) that can display cytotoxic, allelopathic, ichtyotoxic or haemolytic effects upon marine organisms. The objective of this experimental study was to assess the effects of PST and BEC produced by A. minutum upon juvenile great scallops Pecten maximus. Scallops were exposed for one week to two different strains of A. minutum, the first producing both PST and BEC and the second producing only BEC. Escape response to starfish, daily shell growth, histological effects, and accumulation of PST were recorded after one week of exposure, and after two subsequent weeks of recovery. Daily shell growth was delayed three days in scallops exposed to the BEC-producing A. minutum strain, probably during the three first days of exposure. An increase of reaction time to predators was observed in scallops exposed to the BEC condition, suggesting that BEC may have altered sensing processes. Scallops exposed to PST displayed a less-efficient escape response and muscular damage which could reflect the effects of paralytic toxins upon the nervous system of scallops. This study demonstrates contrasting effects of the distinct toxic compounds produced by A. minutum upon marine bivalves, thus highlighting the importance to better characterize these extracellular, bioactive compounds to better understand responses of other marine organisms.
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Borcier Elodie, Morvezen Romain, Boudry Pierre, Miner Philippe, Charrier Gregory, Laroche Jean, Hegaret Helene (2017). Effects of bioactive extracellular compounds and paralytic shellfish toxins produced by Alexandrium minutum on growth and behaviour of juvenile great scallops Pecten maximus. Aquatic Toxicology, 184, 142-154. Publisher's official version : https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aquatox.2017.01.009 , Open Access version : https://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00368/47878/