CHARLESTON, S.C., Jan. 22 (UPI) -- U.S. marine scientists have identified a chemical process that allows normal algae to begin producing a lethal toxin.
Researchers at the Hollings Marine Laboratory say their findings might resolve a long-standing mystery surrounding massive fish kills occurring along the U.S. East Coast.
The scientists uncovered a subtle chemical pathway by which the normally inoffensive algae Pfiesteria piscicida can produce the toxin that caused the mass fish deaths from Delaware to Alabama, particularly in the Neuse River in North Carolina and the Chesapeake Bay.
The single-cell organism can experience explosive growth resulting in algae blooms in coastal waters. While it has been suspected not only in fish kills but also in incidents of human memory loss and other environmental and health-related effects, no one has conclusively identified the actual mechanism.
The Hollings Marine Laboratory is a joint institution of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the National Institute of Standards and Technology, the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources, the College of Charleston, and the Medical University of South Carolina.
The research appears in the journal Environmental Science and Technology.
Copyright 2007 by United Press International. All Rights Reserved.
Researchers at the Hollings Marine Laboratory say their findings might resolve a long-standing mystery surrounding massive fish kills occurring along the U.S. East Coast.
The scientists uncovered a subtle chemical pathway by which the normally inoffensive algae Pfiesteria piscicida can produce the toxin that caused the mass fish deaths from Delaware to Alabama, particularly in the Neuse River in North Carolina and the Chesapeake Bay.
The single-cell organism can experience explosive growth resulting in algae blooms in coastal waters. While it has been suspected not only in fish kills but also in incidents of human memory loss and other environmental and health-related effects, no one has conclusively identified the actual mechanism.
The Hollings Marine Laboratory is a joint institution of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the National Institute of Standards and Technology, the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources, the College of Charleston, and the Medical University of South Carolina.
The research appears in the journal Environmental Science and Technology.
Copyright 2007 by United Press International. All Rights Reserved.
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