CULTURE OF THE HETEROTROPHIC DINOFLAGELLATE PROTOPERIDINIUM CRASSIPES (DINOPHYCEAE) WITH NONCELLULAR FOOD ITEMS(1).

The genus Protoperidinium is an assemblage of heterotrophic dinoflagellates, several species of which have been successfully cultured in the past using various photosynthetic algae as a food source. We succeeded in culturing Protoperidinium crassipes (Kof.) Balech on three separate occasions for periods ranging from 2 to 21 months using rice flour as a food source. In these cultures, unusual small types of cells that were never observed to actively feed sometimes appeared. We confirmed that P. crassipes in culture exhibited bioluminescence.