Possible Cause of Fish Kills Found (Pfiesteria)

[jpak]

http://www.lasvegassun.com/sunbin/stories/tech/2007/jan/11/011100724.html

WASHINGTON (AP) - After more than seven years of study scientists have isolated a toxin that they say may have killed millions of fish along the East Coast in the 1990s.

The fish kills were associated with a parasitic algae called Pfiesteria, but until now researchers have been unable to determine how the organism killed the fish.

Peter Moeller, a chemist with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, said Thursday that he was able to isolate a toxin from Pfiesteria, but that the poison lasted only a few days and was destroyed by light.

That would explain why researchers detected poisons sometimes but not other times.

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[kestrel91316]

1. Isn't Pfiesteria what they called the "cell from hell"?