Genetic differentiation in relation to marine landscape in a broadcast-spawning bivalve mollusc (Placopecten magellanicus).

Marine bivalves are sessile or sedentary as adults but have planktonic larvae which can potentially disperse over large distances. Consequently larval transport is expected to play a prominent role in facilitating gene flow and determining population structure. The sea scallop (Placopecten magellanicus) is a dioecious species with high fecundity, broadcast spawning and a c. 30-day planktonic larval stage, yet it forms discrete populations or 'beds' which have significantly different dynamics and characteristics. We analysed variation at six microsatellite loci in 12 locations throughout the geographic range of the species from Newfoundland, Canada, to New Jersey, USA. Significant differentiation was present and the maximum pairwise theta value, between one of the Newfoundland samples in the north and a sample from the southern portion of the range, was high at 0.061. Other proximate pairs of samples had no detectable genetic differentiation. Mantel tests indicated a significant isolation by distance, but only when one of the populations was excluded. A landscape genetic approach was used to detect areas of low gene flow using a joint analysis of spatial and genetic information. The two major putative barriers inferred by Monmonier's algorithm were then used to define regions for an analysis of molecular variance (amova). That analysis showed a significant but low percentage (1.2%) of the variation to be partitioned among regions, negligible variation among populations within regions, and the majority of the variance distributed between individuals within populations. Prominent currents were concordant with the demarcation of the regions, while a novel approach of using particle tracking software to mimic scallop larval dispersal was employed to interpret within-region genetic patterns.

A molecular phylogeny of the marine red algae (Rhodophyta) based on the nuclear small-subunit rRNA gene.

A phylogeny of marine Rhodophyta has been inferred by a number of methods from nucleotide sequences of nuclear genes encoding small subunit rRNA from 39 species in 15 orders. Sequence divergences are relatively large, especially among bangiophytes and even among congeners in this group. Subclass Bangiophycidae appears polyphyletic, encompassing at least three lineages, with Porphyridiales distributed between two of these. Subclass Florideophycidae is monophyletic, with Hildenbrandiales, Corallinales, Ahnfeltiales, and a close association of Nemaliales, Acrochaetiales, and Palmariales forming the four deepest branches. Cermiales may represent a convergence of vegetative and reproductive morphologies, as family Ceramiaceae is at best weakly related to the rest of the order, and one of its members appears to be allied to Gelidiales. Except for Gigartinales, for which more data are required, the other florideophyte orders appear distinct and taxonomically justified. A good correlation was observed with taxonomy based on pit-plug ultrastructure. Tests under maximum-likelihood and parsimony of alternative phylogenies based on structure and chemistry refuted suggestions that Acrochaetiales is the most primitive florideophyte order and that Gelidiales and Hildenbrandiales are sister groups.

Kainic acid and 1'-hydroxykainic acid from Palmariales.

The distribution of kainic acid among various red algae was investigated. Analysis of free amino acids from different populations of Palmaria palmata showed that some were unable to accumulate kainic acid to detectable concentrations, whereas in two dwarf mutants it was a major component of the free amino acid composition. The amino acid profiles were also examined for unknown amino acids in the search for possible intermediates in kainic acid biosynthesis. The only unknown amino acid present in P. palmata extracts was isolated and identified by NMR spectroscopy as 1'-hydroxykainic acid. This compound was found in all samples that contained kainic acid. To investigate the effect of growth conditions on kainic acid production different strains of P. palmata were grown at 5, 10, and 15 degrees C with or without added nitrate. No effect on production was observed, suggesting that the growth conditions in these experiments do not affect the level of gene expression in the pathway of kainic acid biosynthesis. Furthermore, changing the growth conditions did not induce synthesis of kainic acid in the non-producing strains of Palmariales.

Chemistry, biology, and toxicology of domoic acid and its isomers.

The causative agent of toxicity in cultured mussels from a localized area of eastern Prince Edward Island has been identified as domoic acid, a neuroexcitatory amino acid. The toxin was isolated by a number of different bioassay-directed separation techniques including high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), high-voltage paper electrophoresis (HVPE), and ion-exchange chromatography, and characterized by a number of spectroscopic techniques including ultraviolet, infrared, mass spectrometry, and nuclear magnetic resonance. The isolation and purification methods are described in detail and some new analytical data for domoic acid are reported. A plankton bloom at the time of the outbreak gave positive mouse bioassays and consisted almost entirely of the pennate diatom, Nitzschia pungens f. multiseries. A positive correlation was found between the number of N. pungens cells and the concentration of domoic acid in the plankton. N. pungens f. multiseries isolated from Cardigan Bay produced domoic acid de novo during stationary phase culture at levels (1 to 10 pg/cell) comparable to values estimated for N. pungens in the plankton samples. We conclude that N. pungens was the major source of the domoic acid in toxic mussels in eastern Prince Edward Island. The recurrence, in November 1988, of a monospecific bloom of N. pungens and the presence of domoic acid in plankton and mussels reinforces this conclusion.