NOVEL TOXIC DINOFLAGELLATE CAUSES EPIDEMIC DISEASE IN ESTUARINE FISH

A newly discovered dinoflagellate is responsible for major fish kills in US Atlantic Coast estuaries. We report that exposure to this dinofl agellate also causes skin ulcers in fish. Skin damage begins as epithe lial erosion, which progresses to complete epithelial loss. Fish that recover from acute toxin exposure develop bacterial and/or fungal-infe cted skin ulcers that are typical of many spontaneous skin ulcer epide mics occurring in estuarine fish species along the Atlantic Coast of t he US. Our data provide the first direct cause-and-effect link between a specific environmental stressor and a naturally-occurring, infectio us disease in a fishery population.