In September and November 2016, eight marine sampling sites along the coast of the southeastern Gulf of Mexico were monitored for the presence of lipophilic and hydrophilic toxins. Water temperature, salinity, hydrogen potential, dissolved oxygen saturation, inorganic nutrients and phytoplankton abundance were also determined. Two samples filtered through glass fiber filters were used for the extraction and analysis of paralytic shellfish toxins (PSTs) by lateral flow immunochromatography (IFL), HPLC with post-column oxidation and fluorescent detection (FLD) and UHPLC coupled to tandem mass spectrometry (UHPLC-MS/MS). Elevated nutrient contents were associated with the sites of rainwater discharge or those near anthropogenic activities. A predominance of the dinoflagellate Pyrodinium bahamense was found with abundances of up to 104 cells L-1. Identification of the dinoflagellate was corroborated by light and scanning electron microscopy. Samples for toxins were positive by IFL, and the analogs NeoSTX and STX were identified and quantified by HPLC-FLD and UHPLC-MS/MS, with a total PST concentration of 6.5 pg cell-1. This study is the first report that confirms the presence of PSTs in P. bahamense in Mexican waters of the Gulf of Mexico.
Keywords: Gulf of Mexico; HPLC-FLD; Pyrodinium bahamense; UHPLC-MS/MS; dinoflagellates; neosaxitoxin; paralytic shellfish poisoning; paralytic shellfish toxins; phytoplankton; saxitoxin.