Pseudo-nitzschia turgidula (Hustedt) Hasle
Pseudo-nitzschia turgidula is a pennate diatom that can produce domoic acid, the causative toxin in amnesic shellfish poisoning and domoic acid poisoning (Rhodes et al. 1996).
A northeast Pacific isolate of P. turgidula had a maximum specific growth rate of 0.09 ± 0.02 per day and a maximum pH for growth of 8.7 in the laboratory (100 micromolar photons m-2 s-1 and 15 deg C; Lundholm et al. 2004).
Cell size in a laboratory isolate gradually decreases over time. The average cell volume of a northeast Pacific isolate was 479 ± 73 cubic microns (Lundholm et al. 2004).
Pseudo-nitzschia turgidula is restricted to cold waters. Present in low concentrations in Australian waters (Hallegraeff 1994). From Hasle 2002: Atlantic: Barents Sea, northeast and west of Greenland (identification questionable, Quillfeldt von, 1996), off Shetland (ca 61°N) and North Atlantic (ca 51°N) (identification questionable, Hasle, 1965), Scottish waters ( Gallacher et al., 2001). Pacific: Australian waters, ca 30–34°S (Hallegraeff, 1994) to 53–62°S ( Hasle, 1965), including Bay of Plenty, New Zealand ( Rhodes et al., 1998), 49°26′S (unpublished observations).