STATEMENT
Alexandrium tamarense (At) is a unicellular protist that causes harmful algal blooms (HABs) and paralytic shellfish poisoning. The impacts of HABs on marine ecosystems and the seafood industry are substantial. A recent study estimated the average economic impact in the United States from HABs between 1987-1992 to be 49 million dollars a year, including 18 million in damage to commercial fisheries. This figure does not include loss of potential income generated by the vast shellfish resources in Alaska and Georges Bank that are closed because of paralytic shellfish poisoning caused by At. In addition, the saxitoxins produced by At are suspected as a cause of mortality in sea birds and humpback whales and human intoxication and death. Very little is known, however, about the factors that influence the formation of HABs or their recent spread to new areas. A critical requirement for controlling At is knowledge about its basic biology and toxin production, areas of research that will be significantly aided by the availability of a genomic resource for this species. Characterization of At will also shed light into genome evolution in dinoflagellates, taxa that are renowned for their ability to incorporate multiple endosymbionts and to accumulate foreign genes through horizontal gene transfer (HGT).
This proposal is an integrated, collaborative effort that relies on expertise in molecular evolution and genomics (Debashish Bhattacharya), high quality cDNA library construction (D. Bhattacharya, M. Bento Soares), an established expressed sequence tag (EST) sequencing and bioinformatics pipeline (M.B. Soares, D. Bhattacharya), and expertise in the physiology and culture of At and studies of toxin production (Don Anderson). This study will result in a valuable molecular resource for scientists working to understand the ecology and toxicity of HAB species like At and will provide the detailed insights into the genome of these fascinating protists.