DOMOIC ACID PRODUCTION IN NITZSCHIA SP. (BACILLARIOPHYCEAE) ISOLATED FROM A SHRIMP-CULTURE POND IN DO SON, VIETNAM.

Domoic acid (DA), a neuroexcitatory amino acid, was detected in batch culture of the newly recognized species Nitzschia navis-varingica Lundholm et Moestrup. The production of DA by this diatom was confirmed by electrospray ionization mass spectrometry. The diatom was collected from a shrimp-culture pond in Do Son, Vietnam. The production of DA (1.7 pg·cell-1) is within the levels reported for Pseudo-nitzschia multiseries (Hasle) Hasle. The DA production started during the late exponential growth phase and reached a maximum during the early stationary growth phase. Maximum DA levels in the axenic culture decreased to about half that of the nonaxenic culture (0.9 pg·cell-1 vs. 1.7 pg·cell-1), suggesting that DA production by the new species is influenced by bacteria. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]