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Blastodinium are chloroplast-containing dinoflagellates which infect a wide range of copepods. They develop inside the gut of their host, where they produce successive generations of sporocytes that are eventually expelled through the anus of the copepod. Here, we report on copepod infections in the oligotrophic to ultra-oligotrophic waters of the Mediterranean Sea sampled during the BOUM cruise. Based on a DNA-stain screening of gut contents, 16% of copepods were possibly infected in samples from the Eastern Mediterranean infected, with up to 51% of Corycaeidae, 33% of Calanoida, but less than 2% of Oithonidae and Oncaeidae. Parasites were classified into distinct morphotypes, with some tentatively assigned to species B. mangini, B. contortum, and B. cf. spinulosum. Based upon the SSU rDNA gene sequence analyses of 15 individuals, the genus Blastodinium was found to be polyphyletic, containing at least three independent clusters. The first cluster grouped all sequences retrieved from parasites of Corycaeidae and Oncaeidae during this study, and included sequences of Blastodinium mangini (the "mangini" cluster). Sequences from cells infecting Calanoida belonged to two different clusters, one including B. contortum (the "contortum" cluster), and the other uniting all B. spinulosum-like morphotypes (the "spinulosum" cluster). Cluster-specific oligonucleotidic probes were designed and tested by fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) in order to assess the distribution of dinospores, the Blastodinium dispersal and infecting stage. Probe-positive cells were all small thecate dinoflagellates, with lengths ranging from 7 to 18 µm. Maximal abundances of Blastodinium dinospores were detected at the Deep Chlorophyll Maximum (DCM) or slightly below. This was in contrast to distributions of autotrophic pico- and nanoplankton, microplanktonic dinoflagellates, and nauplii which showed maximal concentrations above the DCM. The distinct distribution of dinospores and nauplii argues against infection during the naupliar stage. Dinospores, described as autotrophic in the literature, may escape the severe nutrient limitation of ultra-oligotrophic ecosystems by living inside copepods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Blastodinium are chloroplast-containing dinoflagellates which infect a wide range of copepods. They develop inside the gut of their host, where they produce successive generations of sporocytes that are eventually expelled through the anus of the copepod. Here, we report on copepod infections in the oligotrophic to ultra-oligotrophic waters of the Mediterranean Sea sampled during the BOUM cruise. Based on a DNA-stain screening of gut contents, 16% of copepods were possibly infected in samples from the Eastern Mediterranean, with up to 51% of Corycaeidae, 33% of Calanoida, but less than 2% of Oithonidae and Oncaeidae. Parasites were classified into distinct morphotypes, with some tentatively assigned to species B. mangini, B. contortum, and B. cf. spinulosum. Based upon the SSU rDNA gene sequence analyses of 15 individuals, the genus Blastodinium was found to be polyphyletic, containing at least three independent clusters. The first cluster grouped all sequences retrieved from parasites of Corycaeidae and Oncaeidae during this study, and included sequences of Blastodinium mangini (the "mangini" cluster). Sequences from cells infecting Calanoida belonged to two different clusters, one including B. contortum (the "contortum" cluster), and the other uniting all B. spinulosum-like morphotypes (the "spinulosum" cluster). Cluster-specific oligonucleotidic probes were designed and tested by FISH in order to assess the distribution of dinospores, the Blastodinium dispersal and infecting stage. Probe-positive cells were all small thecate dinoflagellates, with lengths ranging from 7 to 18 µm. Maximal abundances of Blastodinium dinospores were detected at the Deep Chlorophyll Maximum (DCM) or slightly below. This was in contrast to distributions of autotrophic pico- and nanoplankton, microplanktonic dinoflagellates, and nauplii which showed maximal concentrations above the DCM. The distinct distributions of dinospores and nauplii argues against infection during the naupliar stage. Blastodinium, described as autotrophic in the literature, may escape the severe nutrient limitation of ultra-oligotrophic ecosystems by living inside copepods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sequences affiliated to Syndiniales (Marine alveolate, MALV) regularly dominate 18S rDNA genetic libraries of nearly all marine ecosystems investigated so far. Among them, Amoebophryidae (MALV group II) is composed of numerous and genetically dis-tant environmental sequences, where Amoebophrya is the only known and formally described genus. Amoebophrya species include virulent pathogens for a wide range of dinoflagellate species. Beside their regular occurrence in marine ecosystems, their quantitative distribution and the environmental factors triggering host infection have barely been studied in open oligotrophic waters. In order to understand the functional role of these parasites in natural environments, we studied the distribution and contribution to the eukaryotic community of the small free-living stage of Amoebophryidae (the dinospores) along a transect in the Mediterranean Sea, as well as their host diversity at three oligotrophic stations. Dinospores were more abundant at a coastal station (max. 1.5×103 cells ml-1) than in oligotrophic waters (max. 51±16.3 cells ml-1), where they represented 10.3 to 34.9% of the total eukaryotic community at 40 and 30m depth, respectively and 21.2% on average along the water column. Positive correlation was found between dinospore occurrence and higher concentration of NO3 +NO2 at the coastal station. At selected stations, out of 38 different dinoflagellates taxa identified, were infected, among which a majority were not recognized as Amoebophryidae host so far. Prevalences (percentage of infected cells) generally varied between 2% and 10%, with a notable exception for Blepharocysta paulsenii for which 25% of cells were infected at the station C. The present study shows that dinospores are able to thrive, infects and most probably exert a control on host populations both in coastal and ultra-oligotrophic open waters. Our results emphasize the role of parasitism in 25 microbial food web dynamics and ultimately on biogeochemical cycles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]