An Electrophysiological Investigation of Karenia brevis
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Overview
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Electrophysiological Investigation of Karenia brevis
Red tides of the dinoflagellate Karenia brevis cause significant environmental damage and loss of marine resources in the Southeastern United States. Their polyether neurotoxins, the brevetoxins, interfere with signaling associated with neuromuscular transmission by binding to voltage-activated sodium channels, ultimately causing neurotoxic shellfish poisoning. However, it remains unclear how K. brevis and other non-toxic phytoplankton perceive and interact with their environment at the cellular level, and whether these processes are sensitive to brevetoxins. The goal of this study is to investigate the biophysical properties of the K. brevis plasma membrane. Using patch clamp and voltage clamp recordings, we have shown that high resistance G seals are possible and both single channel and whole cell recordings indicate the presence of fast voltage activated ion channels in K.brevis. The ionic selectivity and pharmacology of these channels is currently in progress and will provide insight into the signaling mechanisms used by K. brevis for environmental sensing.
