Molecular phylogeny, pigment composition, toxicology and life history of Pseudochattonella cf. verruculosa (Class Dictyochophyceae) from Wellington Harbour, New Zealand

• Pigment composition of the Wellington Pseudochattonella differ from those of P. verruculosa and P. farcimen.
• In terms of size and shape, both the cells and mucocysts of the Wellington isolate have the greatest variation among all Pseudochattonella.
• As molecular phylogenies do not conclusively support the separation of the Wellington Pseudochattonella from P. verruculosa or P. farcimen, it is tentatively named as Pseudochattonella cf. verruculosa.
• The life history of Pseudochattonella has for the first time been described in this study.

Pseudochattonella verruculosa is a heterokont flagellate and has frequently been found associated with multi-species harmful algal blooms in Wellington Harbour. In this study the partial sequences of the nuclear encoded LSU rDNA and the large subunit of ribulose bisphosphate carboxylase (rbcL) of Pseudochattonella isolated from Wellington Harbour indicate that it is similar to P. verruculosa, while sequences of mitochondrial encoded COI, are similar to those of Pseudochattonella farcimen. As with P. farcimen, the Wellington Pseudochattonella lacked violaxanthin, lutein and anteroxanthin, three pigments detected only in P. verruculosa. The Wellington isolate also contains zeaxanthin which is absent in P. farcimen. Among all Pseudochattonella, cells of the Wellington isolate are the most variable in terms of both size and shape. Mucocysts of the Wellington Pseudochattonella also have the greatest degree of variation – from small, ‘bullet’-shape to large oval, oblong or ‘sausage’-like. In the sexual reproduction phase two gametes of the Wellington isolate fuse to form a zygote which gives rise to a large multi-nucleate cell. At times two or more of these large multi-nucleate cells fuse further to form a ‘massive’, plasmodium-like aggregate (up to 200 μm long). Positive feeding and toxicity tests on rotifers confirmed that the Wellington Pseudochattonella is cytotoxic and probably also contributed to the May 2010 fish kills. As molecular phylogenies do not conclusively support the separation of the Wellington Harbour Pseudochattonella from P. verruculosa or P. farcimen, it is tentatively named as Pseudochattonella cf. verruculosa.