Alexandrium pacificum Litaker sp. nov (Group IV): Resting cyst distribution and toxin profile of vegetative cells in Bizerte Lagoon (Tunisia, Southern Mediterranean Sea)

• Cyst mapping of Alexandrium pacificum in Bizerte Lagoon.
• Exogenous origin of the strain.
• Indentification of saxitoxin derivates of the strain.
• Close relationship between cyst abundance of A. pacificum and sediment characteristics.

A high spatial resolution sampling of Alexandrium pacificum cysts, along with sediment characteristics (% H2O, % organic matter (OM), granulometry), vegetative cell abundance and environmental factors were investigated at 123 study stations in Bizerte Lagoon (Tunisia). Morphological examination and ribotyping of cells obtained from a culture called ABZ1 obtained from a cyst isolated in lagoon sediment confirmed that the species was A. pacificum. The toxin profile from the ABZ1 culture harvested during exponential growth phase was simple and composed of the N-sulfocarbamoyl toxins C1 (9.82 pg toxin cell−1), the GTX6 (3.26 pg toxin cell−1) and the carbamoyl toxin Neo-STX (0.38 pg toxin cell−1). The latter represented only 2.8% of the total toxins in this strain.High abundance of A. pacificum cysts correlated with enhanced percentages of water and organic matter in the sediment. In addition, sediment fractions of less than 63 μm were examined as a favorable potential seedbed for initiation of future blooms and outbreaks of A. pacificum in the lagoon. A significant difference in the cyst distribution pattern was recorded among the lagoon's different zones, with the higher cyst abundance occurring in the inner waters. Also, no correlation due to the specific hydrodynamics of the lagoon was observed in the spatial distribution of A. pacificum cysts and vegetative cells.