A novel ribotype of <italic style="font-style: italic">Margalefidinium</italic> <italic style="font-style: italic">polykrikoides</italic>, South China Sea ribotype (V), caused the massive fish-killing dinoflagellate bloom off the west coast of Hainan Island, China in 2026

Jingyi CEN; Guowei SUN; Peili ZHANG; Qi QIAO; Xiaobei XU; Wenguo HUANG; Taosheng HAN; Haifeng GU; Songhui LÜ

doi:10.1007/s00343-026-6303-1

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A novel ribotype of Margalefidinium polykrikoides, South China Sea ribotype (V), caused the massive fish-killing dinoflagellate bloom off the west coast of Hainan Island, China in 2026

Updated：2026-10-19

- A novel ribotype of Margalefidinium polykrikoides, South China Sea ribotype (V), caused the massive fish-killing dinoflagellate bloom off the west coast of Hainan Island, China in 2026
- A novel ribotype of Margalefidinium polykrikoides, South China Sea ribotype (V), caused the massive fish-killing dinoflagellate bloom off the west coast of Hainan Island, China in 2026
- 海洋湖沼学报(英文) 2026年页码：1-10
- Affiliations：
  
  1.Key Laboratory of Eutrophication and Red Tide Prevention of Guangdong Higher Education Institutes, College of Life Science and Technology, and Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory (Zhuhai), Jinan University, Guangzhou 510632, China
  2.Marine Monitoring and Forecasting Center of Hainan Province, Haikou 570105, China
  3.Third Institute of Oceanography, Ministry of Natural Resources, Xiamen 361005, China
- Author bio：
  
  guhaifeng@tio.org.cn
  lusonghui1963@163.com
- Funds：
  
  the Marine Economic Development Project of Guangdong Province(2023B1111050011);the National Natural Science Foundation of China(42576138);the Science & Technology Fundamental Resources Investigation Program(2025FY101400)
- DOI：10.1007/s00343-026-6303-1
  中图分类号：
- 收稿：2026-07-17，
  
  录用：2026-07-25，
  
  网络首发：2026-10-19，
- Accepted：
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Jingyi CEN, Guowei SUN, Peili ZHANG, 等. A novel ribotype of Margalefidinium polykrikoides, South China Sea ribotype (V), caused the massive fish-killing dinoflagellate bloom off the west coast of Hainan Island, China in 2026[J/OL]. 海洋湖沼学报(英文), 2026,1-10. DOI: 10.1007/s00343-026-6303-1.

CEN Jingyi,SUN Guowei,ZHANG Peili,et al.A novel ribotype of Margalefidinium polykrikoides, South China Sea ribotype (V), caused the massive fish-killing dinoflagellate bloom off the west coast of Hainan Island, China in 2026[J].Journal of Oceanology and Limnology,
Jingyi CEN, Guowei SUN, Peili ZHANG, 等. A novel ribotype of Margalefidinium polykrikoides, South China Sea ribotype (V), caused the massive fish-killing dinoflagellate bloom off the west coast of Hainan Island, China in 2026[J/OL]. 海洋湖沼学报(英文), 2026,1-10. DOI: 10.1007/s00343-026-6303-1. DOI：

CEN Jingyi,SUN Guowei,ZHANG Peili,et al.A novel ribotype of Margalefidinium polykrikoides, South China Sea ribotype (V), caused the massive fish-killing dinoflagellate bloom off the west coast of Hainan Island, China in 2026[J].Journal of Oceanology and Limnology, DOI：.

摘要

Abstract

In late June

2026

a massive harmful algal bloom (HAB) occurred along the western coast of Hainan Island

China

severely impacting mariculture operations in the Changjiang

Danzhou

Lingao

and Chengmai. The bloom resulted in widespread mortalities of economically important farmed fish

specifically cobia (

Rachycentron

canadum

) and golden pomfret (

Trachinotus

ovatus

). Morphological identification via ligh

t and scanning electron microscopy confirmed the causative agent as the ichthyotoxic dinoflagellate

Margalefidinium

polykrikoides

. However

molecular characterization based on LSU rRNA gene sequences identified the causative species as a previously undocumented ribotype. Maximum-likelihood phylogenetic analysis revealed a strongly supported

monophyletic lineage

that is genetically distinct from the four established global ribotypes (East Asian

American/Malaysian

Philippines

and Mediterranean). Given its profound phylogenetic divergence and high toxicity-despite the lack of distinct diagnostic morphological markers

this strain is designated as a novel ribotype

South China Sea ribotype

or Group V. Our phylogenetic analyses also suggest that the subclade composed of four sequences from Republic of Korea

which is closely related to the Mediterranean ribotype

should be assigned as a new ribotype

Group VI. These findings reveal significant cryptic diversity within the

polykrikoides

complex and highlight an emerging threat to tropical mariculture

underscoring the necessity for enhanced surveillance and integrated monitoring strategies.

关键词

Keywords

references

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A novel ribotype of Margalefidinium polykrikoides, South China Sea ribotype (V), caused the massive fish-killing dinoflagellate bloom off the west coast of Hainan Island, China in 2026

A novel ribotype of Margalefidinium polykrikoides, South China Sea ribotype (V), caused the massive fish-killing dinoflagellate bloom off the west coast of Hainan Island, China in 2026

DOI：10.1007/s00343-026-6303-1

摘要

Abstract

关键词

Keywords

references