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Advances and Current Challenges in Marine Biotoxins Monitoring
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Advances and Current Challenges in Marine Biotoxins Monitoring

A special issue of Journal of Marine Science and Engineering (ISSN 2077-1312).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 June 2019) | Viewed by 17162

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Pedro Reis Costa

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Laboratório de Fitoplâncton, Departamento do Mar e Recursos Marinhos, Instituto Português do Mar e da Atmosfera, Rua Alfredo Magalhães Ramalho, 6, 1449-006 Lisboa, Portugal
Interests: harmful algal blooms; marine toxins
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The programs for monitoring marine biotoxins, aiming at minimize the risk of acute intoxication after consumption of seafood, have been challenged by multiple factors: i) emergence of new toxins, ii) occurrence of new analogues of regulated toxins, iii) moving away from biological methods for official control and, iv) harmonization of detection methods and regulatory limits in a world of global trade. Either due to climate change conditions or impacts of human activities, harmful algal blooms have been pointed out as an increasing phenomenon with higher frequency, intensity and geographical distribution. New toxins, such as Tetrodotoxins, Ciguatoxins, Palytoxins and Cyclic Imines, may represent new environmental threats. In addition to the implementation of liquid chromatography based methods for official control, several other detection methods characterized by being cost effective and fast, high-throughput, in situ, real-time monitoring, semi-quantitative or qualitative, or technically less complex, have been recently developed, which can be used to support regulators and seafood business operators.

This Special Issue aims to initiate a forum on current challenges and advances on marine biotoxins monitoring bringing to light new data on toxic phytoplankton occurrence, toxins accumulation, transformation and elimination in seafood, their toxicological potential and detection methods.

Dr. Pedro Reis Costa
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Journal of Marine Science and Engineering is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • Harmful algal blooms
  • Marine biotoxins
  • Shellfish
  • Saxitoxins
  • Okadaic acid
  • Tetrodotoxins
  • Ciguatera
  • Food safety

Published Papers (5 papers)

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Editorial

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2 pages, 171 KiB  
Editorial
Advances and Current Challenges in Marine Biotoxins Monitoring
by Pedro Reis Costa
J. Mar. Sci. Eng. 2019, 7(9), 302; https://doi.org/10.3390/jmse7090302 - 02 Sep 2019
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1803
Abstract
Shellfish are filter-feeding organisms that may accumulate high levels of naturally-occurring toxins, produced by harmful algal blooms, and act as marine toxin vectors to whomever consumes them [...] Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances and Current Challenges in Marine Biotoxins Monitoring)

Research

Jump to: Editorial

6 pages, 875 KiB  
Article
Evaluation of the Occurrence of Tetrodotoxin in Bivalve Mollusks from the Portuguese Coast
by Susana Margarida Rodrigues, Estefanía Pereira Pinto, Patrícia Oliveira, Sónia Pedro and Pedro Reis Costa
J. Mar. Sci. Eng. 2019, 7(7), 232; https://doi.org/10.3390/jmse7070232 - 19 Jul 2019
Cited by 12 | Viewed by 2917
Abstract
Occurrence of tetrodotoxin (TTX), a potent natural neurotoxin, in marine organisms and seafood from the European Union has been of increasing concern due to its relatively recent detection in bivalve mollusks and gastropods. Following a request of the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) [...] Read more.
Occurrence of tetrodotoxin (TTX), a potent natural neurotoxin, in marine organisms and seafood from the European Union has been of increasing concern due to its relatively recent detection in bivalve mollusks and gastropods. Following a request of the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) to EU Member States to obtain more data on TTX occurrence, this study collected 117 samples of bivalve mollusks, including mussels (Mytilus galloprovincialis), oysters (Crassostrea gigas) and clams (Ruditapes philippinarum and Donax spp.), from the South and Southwest Portuguese coast between May and October 2018, for TTX determination and microbiological analysis. The analyses carried out by hydrophilic interaction liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (HILIC-MS/MS) did not detect TTX in any sample, and microbiological analysis did not reveal high concentrations of Vibrio spp., which has been linked to the presence of TTX. Although preliminary, results from this study, the first investigating the presence of TTX in bivalve mollusks from the Portuguese coast, suggest that TTX may not represent a risk for human consumption of bivalve mollusks. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances and Current Challenges in Marine Biotoxins Monitoring)
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12 pages, 2975 KiB  
Article
Fish Hybridization Leads to Uncertainty Regarding Ciguatera Fish Poisoning Risk; Confirmation of Hybridization and Ciguatoxin Accumulation with Implications for Stakeholders
by Christopher R. Loeffler, Sara M. Handy, Harold A. Flores Quintana and Jonathan R. Deeds
J. Mar. Sci. Eng. 2019, 7(4), 105; https://doi.org/10.3390/jmse7040105 - 17 Apr 2019
Cited by 12 | Viewed by 3900
Abstract
Globally, ciguatera fish poisoning (CFP) avoidance efforts rely primarily on local knowledge of the fish being consumed, its collection location, and association with illnesses. In 2016, several fish that appeared to be hybrids between a local commercially prized species, Ocyurus chrysurus, and [...] Read more.
Globally, ciguatera fish poisoning (CFP) avoidance efforts rely primarily on local knowledge of the fish being consumed, its collection location, and association with illnesses. In 2016, several fish that appeared to be hybrids between a local commercially prized species, Ocyurus chrysurus, and a regionally prohibited species Lutjanus apodus (due to CFP concerns), were caught nearshore in United States Virgin Islands waters, leading to confusion regarding the safety of consuming the fish. The hybrid status of the fish was verified as O. chrysurus (male) × L. apodus (female) by comparing two sets of gene sequences (mitochondrial CO1 and nuclear S7). Using an in vitro mouse neuroblastoma (N2a) assay, one of the hybrid fish exhibited a composite cytotoxicity of 0.038 ppb Caribbean ciguatoxin-1 (C-CTX-1) equivalents (Eq.); a concentration below the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) guidance level for safety in fish products for CFP (0.1 ppb C-CTX-1 Eq.) but approximately 2× above the maximum described in the commercially prized parent species (0.019 ppb C-CTX-1 Eq./g). C-CTX-1 was confirmed in the hybrid sample by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). The second hybrid fish tested negative for CTXs. This research confirms hybridization between two species with contrasting commercial statuses, discusses CTX accumulation implications for hybridization, and provides a methodology for future studies into novel CFP vectors, with the goal of providing critical information for fishermen and consumers regarding CFP risk management. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances and Current Challenges in Marine Biotoxins Monitoring)
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7 pages, 2334 KiB  
Communication
Brevetoxin-Producing Spherical Cells Present in Karenia brevis Bloom: Evidence of Morphological Plasticity?
by Lucie Novoveská and Alison Robertson
J. Mar. Sci. Eng. 2019, 7(2), 24; https://doi.org/10.3390/jmse7020024 - 23 Jan 2019
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 4519
Abstract
Spherical cells were detected in low salinity waters during a bloom of Karenia brevis in Alabama coastal waters. These balls resembled K. brevis in size and organelle appearance, contained similar concentration of brevetoxin, and occurred during ongoing K. brevis bloom. Based on the [...] Read more.
Spherical cells were detected in low salinity waters during a bloom of Karenia brevis in Alabama coastal waters. These balls resembled K. brevis in size and organelle appearance, contained similar concentration of brevetoxin, and occurred during ongoing K. brevis bloom. Based on the environmental conditions in which these cells were observed, we speculate that a rapid drop in salinity triggered the sphere formation in K. brevis. Brevetoxin concentrations were comparable between surface water samples containing typical and atypical cells ranging from 1 to 10 ng/mL brevetoxin-3 equivalents. Accurate identification and quantification of cell abundance in the water column is essential for routine monitoring of coastal waters, so misidentification of these spherical cells may result in significant underestimation of cell densities, and consequently, brevetoxin level. These potential discrepancies may negatively impact the quality of regulatory decisions and their impact on shellfish harvest area closures. We demonstrate that traditional monitoring based on microscopy alone is not sufficient for brevetoxin detection, and supporting toxin data is necessary to evaluate potential risk. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances and Current Challenges in Marine Biotoxins Monitoring)
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8 pages, 1207 KiB  
Article
Determination of Cell Abundances and Paralytic Shellfish Toxins in Cultures of the Dinoflagellate Gymnodinium catenatum by Fourier Transform Near Infrared Spectroscopy
by Marta Belchior Lopes, Ana Amorim, Cecília Calado and Pedro Reis Costa
J. Mar. Sci. Eng. 2018, 6(4), 147; https://doi.org/10.3390/jmse6040147 - 05 Dec 2018
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 3499
Abstract
Harmful algal blooms are responsible worldwide for the contamination of fishery resources, with potential impacts on seafood safety and public health. Most coastal countries rely on an intense monitoring program for the surveillance of toxic algae occurrence and shellfish contamination. The present study [...] Read more.
Harmful algal blooms are responsible worldwide for the contamination of fishery resources, with potential impacts on seafood safety and public health. Most coastal countries rely on an intense monitoring program for the surveillance of toxic algae occurrence and shellfish contamination. The present study investigates the use of near infrared (NIR) spectroscopy for the rapid in situ determination of cell concentrations of toxic algae in seawater. The paralytic shellfish poisoning (PSP) toxin-producing dinoflagellate Gymnodinium catenatum was selected for this study. The spectral modeling by partial least squares (PLS) regression based on the recorded NIR spectra enabled the building of highly accurate (R2 = 0.92) models for cell abundance. The models also provided a good correlation between toxins measured by the conventional methods (high-performance liquid chromatography with fluorescence detection (HPLC-FLD)) and the levels predicted by the PLS/NIR models. This study represents the first necessary step in investigating the potential of application of NIR spectroscopy for algae bloom detection and alerting. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances and Current Challenges in Marine Biotoxins Monitoring)
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