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Many dinoflagellates produce bioluminescence. To estimate the intensity of bioluminescence produced by populations of the heterotrophic dinoflagellates Noctiluca scintillans and Polykrikos kofoidii and autotrophic dinoflagellate Alexandrium mediterraneum in Korean waters, we measured cellular bioluminescence intensity as a function of water temperature and calculated population bioluminescence intensity with cell abundances and water temperature. The mean 200-second-integrated bioluminescence intensity per cell (BLcell) of N. scintillans satiated with the chlorophyte Dunaliella salina decreased continuously with increasing water temperature from 5 to 25°C. However, the BLcell of P. kofoidii satiated with the mixotrophic dinoflagellate Alexandrium minutum continuously increased from 5 to 15°C but decreased at temperatures exceeding this (to 30°C). Similarly, the BLcell of A. mediterraneum continuously increased from 10 to 20°C but decreased between 20 and 30°C. The difference between highest and lowest BLcell of N. scintillans, P. kofoidii, and A. mediterraneum at the tested water temperatures was 3.5, 11.8, and 21.0 times, respectively, indicating that water temperature clearly affected BLcell. The highest estimated population bioluminescence intensity (BLpopul) of N. scintillans in Korean waters in 1998-2022 was 4.22 × 1013 relative light unit per liter (RLU L-1), which was 1,850 and 554,000 times greater than that of P. kofoidii and A. mediterraneum, respectively. This indicates that N. scintillans populations produced much brighter bioluminescence in Korean waters than the populations of P. kofoidii or A. mediterraneum. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Noctiluca scintillans is a heterotrophic dinoflagellate that causes red-colored oceans during the day (red tides) and glowing oceans at night (bioluminescence). This species feeds on diverse prey, including phytoplankton, heterotrophic protists, and eggs of metazoans. Thus, many scientists have conducted studies on the ecophysiology of this species. It is easy to cultivate N. scintillans at a scale of <1 L, but it is difficult to cultivate them at a scale of >100 L because N. scintillans cells usually stay near the surface, while prey cells stay below the surface in large water tanks. To obtain mass-cultured N. scintillans cells, we developed an automatic system for cultivating N. scintillans on a scale of 100 L. The system consisted of four tanks containing fresh nutrients, the chlorophyte Dunaliella salina as prey, N. scintillans for growth, and N. scintillans for storage, respectively. The light intensities supporting the high growth rates of D. salina and N. scintillans were 300 and 20 µmol photons m-2 s-1, respectively. Twenty liters of D. salina culture from the prey culture tank were transferred to the predator culture tank, and subsequently 20 L of nutrients from the nutrient tank were transferred to the prey culture tank every 2 d. When the volume of N. scintillans in the predator culture tank reached 90 L 6 d later, 70 L of the culture were transferred to the predator storage tank. To prevent N. scintillans cells from being separated from D. salina cells in the predator culture tank, the culture was mixed using an air pump, a sparger, and a stirrer. The highest abundance of N. scintillans in the predator culture tank was 45 cells mL-1, which was more than twice the highest abundance when this dinoflagellate was cultivated manually. This automatic system supplies 100 L of N. scintillans pure culture with a high density every 10 d for diverse experiments on N. scintillans. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Some species in the dinoflagellate genus Alexandrium are bioluminescent. Of the 33 formally described Alexandrium species, the bioluminescence capability of only nine species have been tested, and eight have been reported to be bioluminescent. The present study investigated the bioluminescence capability of seven Alexandrium species that had not been tested. Alexandrium mediterraneum, A. pohangense, and A. tamutum were bioluminescent, but A. andersonii, A. hiranoi, A. insuetum, and A. pseudogonyaulax were not. We also measured the bioluminescent intensity of A. affine, A. fraterculus, A. mediterraneum, A. ostenfeldii, A. pacificum, A. pohangense, A. tamarense, and A. tamutum. The mean 200-second-integrated bioluminescence intensity per cell ranged from 0.02 to 32.2 χ 104 relative luminescence unit per cell (RLU cell-1), and the mean maximum bioluminescence intensity per cell per second (BLMax) ranged from 0.01 to 10.3 χ 104 RLU cell-1 s-1. BLMax was significantly correlated with the maximum growth rates of Alexandrium species, except for A. tamarense. A phylogenetic tree based on large subunit ribosomal DNA (LSU rDNA) showed that the bioluminescent species A. affine, A. catenella, A. fraterculus, A. mediterraneum, A. pacificum, and A. tamarense formed a large clade. However, the toxicity or mixotrophic capability of these species was split. Thus, their bioluminescence capability in this clade was more consistent than their toxicity or mixotrophic capability. Phylogenetic trees based on LSU rDNA and the luciferase gene of Alexandrium were consistent except for A. pohangense. The results of the present study can provide a basis for understanding the interspecific diversity in bioluminescence of Alexandrium. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]