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KUWAIT: A new study has confirmed the presence of three harmful algae species in Kuwait’s coastal waters, providing the first genetic evidence of their identity and resolving years of taxonomic uncertainty over blooms linked to marine mortality events. Researchers from the Kuwait Institute for Scientific Research (KISR), in collaboration with international partners, identified Karenia papilionacea, Karenia selliformis, and Karlodinium ballantinum through advanced molecular analyses of water samples collected between 2014 and 2021.
The study, published this month, confirms that K papilionacea had previously been misidentified as the more toxic Karenia brevis in local waters due to their similar morphology. “Our results provide the first unambiguous molecular identification of K papilionacea from Kuwait’s coastal waters and resolve the previous regional taxonomic uncertainty for this species,” the researchers wrote. It also marks the first regional record of Karlodinium ballantinum in the Gulf.
The study’s lead author, Dr Manal Al-Kandari of KISR’s Environment and Life Sciences Research Center, told Kuwait News Agency (KUNA) on Thursday that the findings will support better environmental protection and food security efforts. “These results will enable the development of more effective early warning systems and help protect the marine environment, fish resources, and strengthen food security,” said Dr Al-Kandari.
She added that the study contributed to “establishing a reference collection of preserved live strains at the institute — an important national and regional resource for future research on the impacts of these algae.” Dr Al-Kandari emphasized the importance of sustaining such scientific studies to protect Kuwait’s marine environment.
Insufficient monitoring
Karenia selliformis was previously linked to a major fish kill in Kuwait Bay in 1999. While its presence has been documented morphologically in the years since, this is the first time it has been confirmed through DNA sequencing. “Kuwait’s marine environment remains at risk,” the study noted. “The ichthyotoxic K. selliformis, in particular, has previously caused massive fish kills and economic losses.”
The researchers emphasized that traditional monitoring currently used in Kuwait, which is based solely on light microscopy, is not sufficient to identify fragile, morphologically similar dinoflagellates like those in the Kareniaceae family. “An unambiguous species identification based on morphological examination alone is often impossible and usually requires support by genetic analyses,” the study explained.
The team established 10 clonal cultures and used high-resolution microscopy along with LSU rDNA sequencing to differentiate the species. Their findings confirm that strains once believed to be K. brevis are in fact K. papilionacea, a species with lower toxicity but similar shape and structure. They also determined that the K. selliformis strain found in Kuwait belongs to a warm-water lineage most closely related to strains from New Zealand, which may suggest the existence of distinct “phylotypes” or subgroups within the species.
The discovery of K. ballantinum — known to cause fish kills in other parts of Asia — represents a new concern. “Through combined evidence from molecular phylogeny and morphology, this study reports the identification of K. ballantinum in Kuwait’s waters, marking the first record of this species in the entire Gulf,” the researchers wrote.
The study recommends enhancing monitoring systems with molecular tools and continuing to build reference strain collections to better detect and assess harmful algal blooms (HABs). These blooms can reduce oxygen levels, damage fish gills, and in some cases produce toxins harmful to marine life and humans. “The bloom-forming toxigenic kareniacean species can be considered a latent threat to Kuwait’s marine environment,” the study concluded. “Accurate identification and quantification of cell abundance in the water column is essential for routine monitoring.”
