Commun Biol. 2018 Aug 24;1:121. doi:10.1038/s42003-018-0127-2

Torres-Águila NP, Martí-Solans J, Ferrández-Roldán A, Almazán A, Roncalli V, D'Aniello S, Romano G, Palumbo A, Albalat R, Cañestro C.

Diatom bloom-derived biotoxins cause aberrant development and gene expression in the appendicularian chordate Oikopleura dioica

Polyunsaturated aldehydes released by diatoms impair the development of O. dioica by delaying the onset of expression of developmental genes. Cell proliferation is not affected and “defensome” genes such as Aldh genes or Gclm (Glutamate-cysteine ligase modifier) are induced by the toxins. Chaetoceros calcitrans, a diatom used as food when culturing O. dioica, is also shown to have a toxic effect.