Report of the harmful diatom genus Pseudo-nitzschia and the Korean unrecorded species P. lundholmiae in the coastal waters of Jeju Island
A 1987 poisoning incident on Prince Eeiwrd Island, Canada, caused by consumption of mussels (Mbrius efudis) cultivated in a local sea town, resulted in 4 deaths and more than 150 people were poisoned. The substance causing the poisoning was the neurotoxin Domoic acid (DA), Domoic acid is a non-protein amino acid, a potent neurotoxic substance produced by the metabolism of long-chained pinniped diatoms. which is produced by Pseudo-nitzschia mukiseries. Poisoning caused by DA is called Amnesic Shellfish Poisonir (ASP). Symptoms include vomiting, diarrhea, confusion, memory loss, and in the most severe cases, death. A species of Pseudo-nitzschia, which had not been recorded in Korea up to that time, was found in the samples collected between March 2022 and November 2023 in the sea. In this study, the unrecorded species in Korea were analyzed morphologically using light microscopy and SEM (Scanning Electron Microscope), and then molecularly genetically using an phylogenentic tree. Red tides are caused by the potentially toxic Pseudo-nitzschia. A genus of marine planktonic diatoms (with rare toxicity-producing ability among diatoms). It produces the neurotoxin domoic acid (DA), which can cause poisoning in humans and marine mammals. There are approximately 58 species, 28 of which have been shown to produce DA toxin, Occurs in Korean waters, such as in Masan Bay and Tongyeong. We would like to report the discovery of Pseudo-nitzschia in samples collected between March 2022 and November 2023 from the waters of Jeju Island, which had not been detected in Korea so far. Six species are in culture, including one Korean unrecorded species, and one alternate species.
