AUTHOR=Menezes Mariângela , Branco Suema , Miotto Maria Cecília , Alves-de-Souza Catharina 

TITLE=The Genus Alexandrium (Dinophyceae, Dinophyta) in Brazilian Coastal Waters

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Marine Science

VOLUME=5

YEAR=2018

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/marine-science/articles/10.3389/fmars.2018.00421

DOI=10.3389/fmars.2018.00421

ISSN=2296-7745

ABSTRACT=<p>A review of the dinoflagellate genus <italic>Alexandrium</italic> occurring in Brazilian coastal waters is presented based on both published information and new data. Seven <italic>Alexandrium</italic> species have been recorded from Brazil so far: <italic>Alexandrium catenella, Alexandrium fraterculus, Alexandrium gaardnerae, Alexandrium kutnerae, Alexandrium tamiyavanichi, Alexandrium tamutum</italic>, and <italic>Alexandrium</italic> sp. While <italic>A. gaardnerae</italic> and <italic>A. kutnerae</italic> were identified based only on morphological characteristics, phylogenetic analysis (ITS and LSU rDNA) were performed for the remaining species based on cultures and/or field populations. Monoclonal cultures of the analyzed species were isolated from field samples obtained from Bahia (<italic>A. tamiyavanichi</italic>, two strains), Rio de Janeiro (<italic>A. tamutum</italic>, three strains; <italic>Alexandrium</italic> sp., <italic>two</italic> strains), Santa Catarina (<italic>A. fraterculus</italic>, one strain), and Rio Grande do Sul (<italic>Alexandrium tamarense</italic>, three strains). This is the first record of <italic>A. tamutum</italic> for the South Atlantic. In addition, molecular data for Brazilian strains of <italic>A. fraterculus</italic> are presented for the first time, as well as sequences from the ITS region for <italic>A. catenella</italic> (previously reported as <italic>A. tamarense</italic>) from Brazilian coastal waters. The morphological characters of the three species corresponded to those typically recorded in the literature and their identification was confirmed by molecular analysis. Based on the LSU rDNA and ITS regions, the three strains of <italic>A. catenella</italic> showed a high degree of similarity with strains from Southern Chile and North America. The implications and limitations of these findings for the monitoring protocols within the global and regional context are discussed.</p>