| 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 assocd. with massive blooms of N. pungens, a widely distributed diatom not previously known to produce toxins; human fatalities resulted. The causative agent, domoic acid, is indeed produced by this diatom. Although no domoic acid could be detected (<2 ng/mL) in culture medium prepd. from Cardigan River water, it was found in cultures of N. pungens grown in this medium at concns. ranging from 0.03 to 0.8 pg/cell in various sep. cultures harvested for chem. anal. 7-68 days after inoculation. |
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