P. kofoidii\u00a0is a dinoflagellate: a single-celled aquatic organism. Although this species is found all over the world, scientists don\u2019t know much about it.\u00a0<\/p>\n
What they do know is that, although it\u2019s tiny, this plankton is a wily predator that uses\u00a0harpoon-like structures<\/a>\u00a0to catch prey before swallowing them whole.\u00a0<\/p>\n According to\u00a0a statement<\/a>\u00a0from\u00a0Michael Latz<\/a>, a marine biologist emeritus at Scripps Oceanography, this species is \u201ca ruthless predator\u201d. Among its victims are types of toxic plankton that cause problematic algal blooms (red tides<\/a>).\u00a0<\/p>\n Now, scientists have studied\u00a0P. kofoidii\u2019s\u00a0bioluminescence<\/a>\u00a0and found that its light production is different from other species of dinoflagellate. The findings are published in the\u00a0Journal of Phycology<\/a><\/p>\n There are\u00a0thousands of species of dinoflagellates,<\/a>\u00a0some of which produce a beautiful blue-green light. Perhaps the most famous of these is the bioluminescent ‘sea sparkle’ (Noctiluca scintillans): another predatory plankton that causes waves to glow like a highlighter pen as they break against the shoreline.\u00a0<\/p>\n Although the bioluminescence created by\u00a0P. kofoidii\u00a0is a similar blue-green colour to that created by other glowing dinoflagellates, there are some key differences. Other species have a light-creating molecule called luciferin inside certain parts the cell, but\u00a0P. kofoidii\u00a0has luciferin all over.<\/p>\n \u201cWe were surprised to see this fluorescence distributed across the entire cell, rather than concentrated in distinct organelles,\u201d says Latz. \u201cThis suggests that\u00a0P. kofoidii\u00a0may store or regulate its light-producing molecules in a fundamentally different way from other species.\u201d<\/p>\n They also found that its flashes of light are slower and dimmer than those of other species.\u00a0<\/p>\n Understanding how this species produces light, and how its bioluminescent is different from other organisms, \u201ccould lead to a better understanding of marine ecosystems, as well as the evolution, chemistry and potential functions of bioluminescence,\u201d says co-author\u00a0Brittany Sprecher<\/a>, formerly of Scripps Oceanography and now a postdoctoral researcher at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWe are still investigating why and how this organism uses such an unusual setup and whether this trait is found in other understudied dinoflagellates,\u201d she adds. \u201cWe also identified interesting features in the proteins involved in its bioluminescence.\u201d<\/p>\n Now, the experts want to find out what impact\u00a0P. kofoidii\u2019s preference for harmful algae<\/a> could have on ecosystems. \u201cCould\u00a0P. kofoidii\u00a0be used to help manage toxic algal blooms that are known to devastate coastal economies?\u201d wonders\u00a0Dimitri Deheyn<\/a>, a marine biologist at Scripps Oceanography.\u00a0<\/p>\n Top image: Fluorescence confocal microscope image of a live\u00a0Polykrikos kofoidii\u00a0cell. Credit: Brittany Sprecher and Michael Latz<\/p>\n More wildlife stories from around the world<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"There\u2019s a “ruthless predator” in the ocean that harpoons its prey and feasts on the\u00a0toxic algae\u00a0that can harm…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":710578,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[26],"tags":[64,63,128,338],"class_list":["post-710577","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-wildlife","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-science","tag-wildlife"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/710577","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=710577"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/710577\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/710578"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=710577"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=710577"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=710577"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"Polykrikos](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Polykrikos-kofoidii-1.jpeg\")
The authors collected seawater from Scripps Pier in La Jolla, California, to find samples of P. kofoidii. This fluorescence confocal microscope image of a live P. kofoidii cell reveals how its light-producing molecule, luciferin, is distributed throughout the cell. In all other studied bioluminescent dinoflagellates, the fluorescence is visible only in certain vesicles. Credit: Brittany Sprecher and Michael Latz<\/p>\n![\"Polykrikos](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Polykrikos-kofoidii.jpeg\")
Confocal microscope image of a live Polykrikos kofoidii cell. The nematocysts used for hunting (black arrows), and ingested prey cells (asterisks) are visible. Credit: Brittany Sprecher and Michael Latz<\/p>\n