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Seagrass beds are the foundation species of functionally important coastal ecosystems worldwide. The world’s largest losses of the widespread seagrass  Zostera marina  (eelgrass) have been reported as a consequence of wasting disease, an infection with the endophytic protist  Labyrinthula zosterae . During one of the most extended epidemics in the marine realm, ∼90% of East and Western Atlantic eelgrass beds died-off between 1932 and 1934. Today, small outbreaks continue to be reported, but the current extent of  L. zosterae  in European meadows is completely unknown. In this study we quantify the abundance and prevalence of the wasting disease pathogen among 19  Z. marina  populations in northern European coastal waters, using quantitative PCR (QPCR) with primers targeting a species specific portion of the internally transcribed spacer (ITS1) of  L. zosterae . Spatially, we found marked variation among sites with abundances varying between 0 and 126 cells mg −1   Z. marina  dry weight (mean: 5.7  L. zosterae  cells mg −1   Z. marina  dry weight ±1.9 SE) and prevalences ranged from 0–88.9%. Temporarily, abundances varied between 0 and 271 cells mg −1   Z. marina  dry weight (mean: 8.5±2.6 SE), while prevalences ranged from zero in winter and early spring to 96% in summer. Field concentrations accessed via bulk DNA extraction and subsequent QPCR correlated well with prevalence data estimated via isolation and cultivation from live plant tissue.  L. zosterae  was not only detectable in black lesions, a sign of  Labyrinthula -induced necrosis, but also occurred in green, apparently healthy tissue. We conclude that  L. zosterae  infection is common (84% infected populations) in (northern) European eelgrass populations with highest abundances during the summer months. In the light of global climate change and increasing rate of marine diseases our data provide a baseline for further studies on the causes of pathogenic outbreaks of  L. zosterae.

plos one

Quantitative PCR Reveals Strong Spatial and Temporal Variation of the Wasting Disease Pathogen, Labyrinthula zosterae in Northern European Eelgrass (Zostera marina) Beds