First record of Biecheleria brevisulcata (Suessiaceae, Dinophyceae) from Argentina

In the framework of a phytoplankton and biotoxin monitoring program implemented since 2008 in marine coastal waters of the Buenos Aires Province (Argentina), the strain LPCc022 of a nanoplanktonic, thin-walled woloszynskioid dinoflagellate, has been isolated. LSU rDNA-based phylogeny showed that the isolated strain belonged to a molecular clade corresponding with of Biecheleria brevisulcata. B. brevisulcata can be differentiated by light microscopy from the species B. baltica, B. halophila, B. cincta and B. tirezensis based on the location of the nucleus in the cell, the size range of the cells, and the environments they inhabit. This is the first report of the genus Biecheleria and the species B. brevisulcata in Argentina and overall South-western Atlantic waters.