Paralytic Shellfish Toxin Uptake, Assimilation, Depuration, and Transformation in the Southeast Asian Green-Lipped Mussel (Perna viridis).

Bivalve molluscs represent an important food source within the Philippines, but the health of seafood consumers is compromised through the accumulation of harmful algal toxins in edible shellfish tissues. In order to assess the dynamics of toxin risk in shellfish, this study investigated the uptake, depuration, assimilation, and analogue changes of paralytic shellfish toxins in Perna viridis. Tank experiments were conducted where mussels were fed with the toxic dinoflagellate Alexandrium minutum. Water and shellfish were sampled over a six day period to determine toxin concentrations in the shellfish meat and water, as well as algal cell densities. The maximum summed toxin concentration determined was 367 µg STX eq./100 g shellfish tissue, more than six times higher than the regulatory action limit in the Philippines. Several uptake and depuration cycles were observed during the study, with the first observed within the first 24 h coinciding with high algal cell densities. Toxin burdens were assessed within different parts of the shellfish tissue, with the highest levels quantified in the mantle during the first 18 h period but shifting towards the gut thereafter. A comparison of toxin profile data evidenced the conversion of GTX1,4 in the source algae to the less potent GTX2,3 in the shellfish tissue. Overall, the study illustrated the temporal variability in Perna viridis toxin concentrations during a modelled algal bloom event, and the accumulation of toxin from the water even after toxic algae were removed.

Insights into the dynamics of harmful algal blooms in a tropical estuary through an integrated hydrodynamic-Pyrodinium-shellfish model.

In contrast to temperate Harmful Algal Blooms (HABs), knowledge on the mechanisms driving tropical HABs are less well studied. The interaction of a seasonal temperature window, cysts (for certain species) and large-scale transport are some of the key processes in temperate HABs. In the Philippines, HABs occur not along long open coastlines, but in embayments that are highly influenced by run-off and stratification. These embayments are typically also the sites of cultured or wild harvest shellfish and other aquaculture activities. Sorsogon Bay in the northeastern Philippines has experienced prolonged shellfish-harvesting bans due to blooms by Pyrodinium bahamense var. compressum severely affecting the fisheries industry in this area, as well as leading to Paralytic Shellfish Poisoning illnesses and fatalities. A novel integrated model was developed that mechanistically captures the interactions between hydrodynamic conditions, nutrients, the life history (cells and cysts) of Pyrodinium, as well as the cultured shellfish within the bay and their ensuing toxicities due to ingestion of toxic Pyrodinium cells and cysts. This is the second model developed for HABs in the Philippines, and the first to integrate different components of Pyrodinium bloom dynamics. The model is modularly composed of a watershed nutrient and diffusion model, a 3D hydrodynamic model, a Pyrodinium population model and a shellfish toxin model. It was able to capture the observed temporal variations of Pyrodinium and shellfish toxicity. It was also able to represent some aspects of the spatial distribution in Sorsogon Bay though there were discrepancies. To explore the dynamics of blooms, the linkages between the bloom and decline of the Pyrodinium population with shellfish toxicity as affected by temperature, salinity and nutrients were investigated. Comparisons with field results showed the seasonality of blooms in Sorsogon Bay is driven by increased rainfall. The timing of these conditions is important in facilitating Pyrodinium excystment and reproduction. Model results showed as well the potential significance of shellfish grazing and dinoflagellate cell mortality in influencing the decline of the bloom, and toxicity levels. This approach is promising in helping to understand mechanisms for HABs more holistically, and the model can be further improved to provide more precise quantitative information.