Molecular techniques for understanding harmful algal blooms: A review

Area of Science:

• Marine Biology
• Environmental Science
• Molecular Ecology

Background:

• Harmful algal blooms (HABs) are complex ecological events with significant environmental impacts.
• Effective HAB prevention and control are hindered by challenges in species identification and driver analysis.
• Molecular techniques have emerged as powerful tools for addressing these challenges.

Purpose of the Study:

• To provide a comprehensive review of molecular techniques for HAB identification and driver analysis.
• To compare different molecular techniques based on their technical specifications and HAB-specific use cases.
• To discuss future prospects and emerging technologies in HAB research.

Main Methods:

• Review of existing literature on molecular techniques for HABs.
• Comparison of nucleic acid-based and antibody-based techniques.
• Evaluation of omics approaches for identifying bloom drivers.

Main Results:

• Nucleic acid-based techniques are currently favored over antibody-based methods due to superior specificity and probe design.
• In situ applications and monitoring platforms for HABs require significant advancements.
• Omics approaches show great promise for unraveling HAB drivers but necessitate quantitative models.

Conclusions:

• Molecular techniques, particularly nucleic acid-based methods, are crucial for advancing HAB research.
• Further development is needed in monitoring platforms and omics-based driver analysis.
• Future research should focus on integrating emerging technologies for comprehensive HAB management.