Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 17, 2026

Early Detection of Cyanobacterial Blooms and Associated Cyanotoxins using Fast Detection Strategy
Published on: February 25, 2021
Biotechnological significance of toxic marine dinoflagellates
F Garcia Camacho1, J Gallardo Rodríguez, A Sánchez Mirón
1Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Almería, 04120 Almería, Spain. fgarcia@ual.es
Abstract:
Dinoflagellates are microalgae that are associated with the production of many marine toxins. These toxins poison fish, other wildlife and humans. Dinoflagellate-associated human poisonings include paralytic shellfish poisoning, diarrhetic shellfish poisoning, neurotoxic shellfish poisoning, and ciguatera fish poisoning. Dinoflagellate toxins and bioactives are of increasing interest because of their commercial impact, influence on safety of seafood, and potential medical and other applications. This review discusses biotechnological methods of identifying toxic dinoflagellates and detecting their toxins. Potential applications of the toxins are discussed. A lack of sufficient quantities of toxins for investigational purposes remains a significant limitation. Producing quantities of dinoflagellate bioactives requires an ability to mass culture them. Considerations relating to bioreactor culture of generally fragile and slow-growing dinoflagellates are discussed. Production and processing of dinoflagellates to extract bioactives, require attention to biosafety considerations as outlined in this review.
Related Concept Videos
Diversity of Protists II
Marine Microbial Ecology
Bacterial Toxins
Microbial Bioremediation of Hydrocarbons
Bacterial Phylum Cyanobacteria
Deep Sea Microbial Ecology

