Domoic Acid—A Neurotoxic Amino Acid Produced by the Marine Diatom Nitzschia pungens in Culture

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Abstract
During late 1987, an outbreak of poisoning resulting from the ingestion of cultivated blue mussels (Mytilus edulis) from a localized area in eastern Canada (Cardigan Bay, Prince Edward Island) was associated with massive blooms of Nitzschia pungens, a widely distributed diatom not previously known to produce toxins; human fatalities resulted. Here we provide proof that the causative agent, domoic acid, is indeed produced by this diatom. Although no domoic acid could be detected (< 2 ng .cntdot. mL-1) in culture medium (FE) prepared from Cardigan River water, it was found in cultures of Nitzschia pungens grown in this medium at concentrations ranging from 0.03 to 0.8 pg .cntdot. cell-1 in various separate cultures harvested for chemical analysis 7-68 d after inoculation.