Detection of Prorocentrum donghaiense using sandwich hybridization integrated with nuclease protection assay

Prorocentrum donghaiense is an important harmful algae bloom (HAB) causing creature in China's seas, and the conventional visual detection can not cope with long-term monitoring and highthroughput sampling projects. An assay for P. donghaiense with sandwich hybridization integrated with nuclease protection assay (NPA-SH) was established. Tests with mixed samples and spiked field ones confirmed its good specificity and sensitivity. The cell number of P. donghaiense correlated well with the optical density, and the regression equation is y=4×10^-6x+ 0.694 9, in which x is the cell number, and y is the optical density, with r²=0.953 5. These results show that the NPA-SH method has good feasibility in the detection of P. donghaiense. Results of NPA-SH and microscopy are excellent for each sample. The NPA-SH method was a simple way in quantitative detection of P. donghaiense, and the whole process could be finished in about six hours, which provided a new approach in high-throughput sampling and long-term monitoring of P. donghaiense.