CAN APOPTOSIS BE INDUCED IN THE TOXIC DINOFLAGELLATE Karlodinium veneficum?

Abstract

This experiment seeks to find out whether or not apoptosis, a form of programmed cell death (PCD), can be induced in a laboratory culture of the toxic dinoflagellate Karlodinium veneficum. K. veneficum is known to release two separate toxins that possibly deter grazing on K. veneficum by other species and also possibly increase the predation success of K. veneficum (Adolf et al., 2005). These toxic blooms cause environmental problems; including fish kills (Deeds et al., 2002). Understanding that apoptosis occurs in K. veneficum has a very important, practical application. If K. veneficum does undergo PCD, eventually we may be able to identify a compound(s) or a treatment that can be applied to blooms that would initiate the same pathways that trigger apoptosis. We could essentially force K. veneficum to commit suicide. Determining the factors which affect and trigger apoptosis of K. veneficum cells would have a profound effect on the development of strategies in which these factors could be applied to natural systems in order to prevent or remediate harmful algal blooms of K. veneficum.