Alexandrium tamarense is a species of dinoflagellates known to produce saxitoxin, a neurotoxin which causes the human illness clinically known as paralytic shellfish poisoning (PSP). Multiple species of phytoplankton are known to produce saxitoxin, including at least 10 other species from the genus Alexandrium.

Alexandrium tamarense
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Clade: Diaphoretickes
Clade: SAR
Clade: Alveolata
Phylum: Myzozoa
Superclass: Dinoflagellata
Class: Dinophyceae
Order: Gonyaulacales
Family: Ostreopsidaceae
Genus: Alexandrium
Species:
A. tamarense
Binomial name
Alexandrium tamarense
(Lebour) Balech

Recent molecular work shows that this species belongs to the Alexandrium tamarense complex (Atama complex, including A. tamarense, Alexandrium fundyense, Alexandrium catenella) and that none of the three original morphospecies designations forms monophyletic groups in the present SSU-based and previous LSU-based[1] phylogenetic trees, i.e. these species designations are invalid.[2] There is docosahexaenoic acid along with saxitoxin.

References

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  1. ^ Lilly, E. L.; Halanych, K. M.; Anderson, D. M. (2007). "Species boundaries and global biogeography of theAlexandrium tamarensecomplex (Dinophyceae)1". Journal of Phycology. 43 (6): 1329–1338. Bibcode:2007JPcgy..43.1329L. doi:10.1111/j.1529-8817.2007.00420.x. S2CID 44175103.
  2. ^ Miranda, L. N.; Zhuang, Y.; Zhang, H.; Lin, S. (2012). "Phylogenetic analysis guided by intragenomic SSU rDNA polymorphism refines classification of "Alexandrium tamarense" species complex". Harmful Algae. 16: 35–48. doi:10.1016/j.hal.2012.01.002.

Further reading

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