İstanbul University| Science Faculty

Toxic Diatom Species From The Marmara Sea And Turkish Coasts Under Mucilage ...

An important toxic diatom species from the Sea of Marmara and the Turkish coasts under the threat of mucilage was identified for the first time; The findings were published in the high impact value journal Harmful Algae (Elsevier, Q1) in the multi-stakeholder study of the Hydrobiology Department, Plankton Research Team.

The study titled “Morpho-phylogenetic and toxicological characterization of Pseudo-nitzschia multiseries from the Sea of Marmara (Turkey)” was completed with national and international collaborations. Rabia SEZGİN, a doctoral student at the Department of Biology, Department of Hydrobiology, has achieved an important success in terms of both scientific research methodology and publication quality with this study that contributed to the literature at the international level. She continues her research within the scope of her doctoral studies under the supervision of Prof. Dr. Muharrem BALCI. In the study, this important toxic diatom species, identified for the first time from the Sea of Marmara and the Turkish coasts, was examined in detail with morphological and molecular methods; It has been shown that it can pose a potential risk to the marine ecosystem and human health with its high domoic acid production capacity. Domoic acid is a neurotoxic compound that damages the nervous system and can cause serious health problems and amnesic shellfish poisoning (ASP) in humans through seafood consumption.

The study has made a significant contribution to the literature by being published in the journal Harmful Algae (Elsevier), which is in the Q1 category in the field of marine sciences and has a high impact value within the scope of SCI-E.

Link: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1568988325000691#fig0002