Dinoflagellate gamete formation and environmental cues: Observations, theory, and synthesis

For some species of cyst-producing dinoflagellates, the sexual life cycle is well studied in laboratory cultures. Dinoflagellate blooms in stratified waters, vertical migration of vegetative cells, and the accumulation of populations within thin layers are well-documented phenomena in nature. We propose a conceptual model that places these phenomena in a functional, ecological context: vegetative cells of a dinoflagellate population display vertical migration, but at the end of the bloom, environmental or internal cues shift the cell cycle to gamete formation. Then the vertical migrations cease, and cells accumulate in a layer at the pycnocline where gametes fuse to form zygotes, which then sink to the sediment as resting cysts. We support this conceptual model with experimental and environmental evidence.