Something is stressing out the algae and causing a release of #DomoicAcid. Could it be #Radioactive #Fukushima wastewater? Radiation is known to cause oxidative stress in algae (I've read the studies and have posted them for years).

ROS is what changes some algae to #ToxicAlgae. It has a number of triggers. #Radiation is one of them...!

Paper from 2016: Sensitivity of the green algae Chlamydomonas reinhardtii to gamma #radiation: photosynthetic performance and ROS formation

"The aquatic environment is continuously exposed to ionizing radiation from both natural and anthropogenic sources, making the characterization of ecological and health risks associated with radiation of large importance. Microalgae represent the main source of biomass production in the aquatic ecosystem, thus becoming a highly relevant biological model to assess the impacts of gamma radiation. However, little information is available on the effects of gamma radiation on microalgae species, making environmental radioprotection of this group of species challenging. In this context, the present study aimed to improve the understanding of the effects and toxic mechanisms of gamma radiation in the unicellular green algae Chlamydomonas reinhardtii focusing on the activity of the photosynthetic apparatus and ROS formation.

"Algae cells were exposed for 6 hrs to gamma radiation (0.49-
1677 mGy/h) and chlorophyll fluorescence parameters obtained by PAM fluorometry, while two fluorescent probes carboxy-H2DFFDA and DHR 123 were used for the quantification of ROS. The alterations seen in C. reinhardtii PSII functional parameters after 6 hrs of exposure to gamma radiation showed modifications of PSII energy transfer associated with electron transport and energy dissipation pathways, especially at the higher dose rates used. Results
also showed that gamma radiation induced ROS in a dose-dependent manner under both light and dark conditions.

Results:

"The exposure of C. reinhardtii cells to gamma radiation resulted in a significant production of ROS over time for both the H2DFFDA and DHR 123 probes (Supplementary Figure A5), where 6 hrs exposure provided the best response, as seen in previous experiments (Almeida, 2015)."

https://nmbu.brage.unit.no/nmbu-xmlui/bitstream/handle/11250/2572806/1422512.pdf?sequence=1

cc: @bsmall2