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      Behavioral and Chemical Ecology of Marine Organisms with Respect to Tetrodotoxin

      review-article
      Author(s):
      Publication date (Electronic):
      Journal: Marine Drugs
      Publisher: Molecular Diversity Preservation International
      Keywords: tetrodotoxin, ecology, defense, venom, pheromone

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          Abstract

          The behavioral and chemical ecology of marine organisms that possess tetrodotoxin (TTX) has not been comprehensively reviewed in one work to date. The evidence for TTX as an antipredator defense, as venom, as a sex pheromone, and as an attractant for TTX-sequestering organisms is discussed. Little is known about the adaptive value of TTX in microbial producers; thus, I focus on what is known about metazoans that are purported to accumulate TTX through diet or symbioses. Much of what has been proposed is inferred based on the anatomical distribution of TTX. Direct empirical tests of these hypotheses are absent in most cases.

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          Tetrodotoxin – Distribution and Accumulation in Aquatic Organisms, and Cases of Human Intoxication

          Tamao Noguchi, Osamu Arakawa (2008)
          Many pufferfish of the family Tetraodontidae possess a potent neurotoxin, tetrodotoxin (TTX). In marine pufferfish species, toxicity is generally high in the liver and ovary, whereas in brackish water and freshwater species, toxicity is higher in the skin. In 1964, the toxin of the California newt was identified as TTX as well, and since then TTX has been detected in a variety of other organisms. TTX is produced primarily by marine bacteria, and pufferfish accumulate TTX via the food chain that begins with these bacteria. Consequently, pufferfish become non-toxic when they are fed TTX-free diets in an environment in which the invasion of TTX-bearing organisms is completely shut off. Although some researchers claim that the TTX of amphibians is endogenous, we believe that it also has an exogenous origin, i.e., from organisms consumed as food. TTX-bearing animals are equipped with a high tolerance to TTX, and thus retain or accumulate TTX possibly as a biologic defense substance. There have been many cases of human intoxication due to the ingestion of TTX-bearing pufferfish, mainly in Japan, China, and Taiwan, and several victims have died. Several cases of TTX intoxication due to the ingestion of small gastropods, including some lethal cases, were recently reported in China and Taiwan, revealing a serious public health issue.
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            Metabolites from symbiotic bacteria.

            Jörn Piel (2004)
            This review describes natural products that are shown or suspected to be synthesized by symbiotic bacteria. It includes 349 references and covers the literature in this field through 2003.
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              Evolutionary diversification of TTX-resistant sodium channels in a predator-prey interaction.

              Scott Brodie, Shana Geffeney, Esther Fujimoto … (2005)
              Understanding the molecular genetic basis of adaptations provides incomparable insight into the genetic mechanisms by which evolutionary diversification takes place. Whether the evolution of common traits in different lineages proceeds by similar or unique mutations, and the degree to which phenotypic evolution is controlled by changes in gene regulation as opposed to gene function, are fundamental questions in evolutionary biology that require such an understanding of genetic mechanisms. Here we identify novel changes in the molecular structure of a sodium channel expressed in snake skeletal muscle, tsNa(V)1.4, that are responsible for differences in tetrodotoxin (TTX) resistance among garter snake populations coevolving with toxic newts. By the functional expression of tsNa(V)1.4, we show how differences in the amino-acid sequence of the channel affect TTX binding and impart different levels of resistance in four snake populations. These results indicate that the evolution of a physiological trait has occurred through a series of unique functional changes in a gene that is otherwise highly conserved among vertebrates.
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                Author and article information

                Journal
                Journal ID (nlm-ta): Mar Drugs
                Journal ID (publisher-id): MD
                Title: Marine Drugs
                Publisher: Molecular Diversity Preservation International
                ISSN (Electronic): 1660-3397
                Publication date Collection: 2010
                Publication date (Electronic): 26 February 2010
                Volume: 8
                Issue: 3
                Pages: 381-398
                Affiliations
                Department of Biology, MSC 3AF, New Mexico State University, PO Box 30001, Las Cruces, New Mexico, 88003-8001, USA; E-Mail: toxwilliams@ 123456gmail.com ; Tel.: +01-1-575-646-4123; Fax: +01-1-575-646-5665
                Article
                Publisher ID: marinedrugs-08-00381
                DOI: 10.3390/md8030381
                PMC ID: 2857358
                PubMed ID: 20411104
                SO-VID: 52292e8e-fd72-4e24-a311-d96a55bfb501
                Copyright © © 2010 by the authors; licensee Molecular Diversity Preservation International, Basel, Switzerland
                License:

                This article is an open-access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution license ( http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/).

                History
                Date received : 4 February 2010
                Date revision received : 24 February 2010
                Date accepted : 25 February 2010
                Categories
                Subject: Review

                ScienceOpen disciplines: Pharmacology & Pharmaceutical medicine
                Keywords: ecology,venom,defense,tetrodotoxin,pheromone
                Data availability:
                ScienceOpen disciplines: Pharmacology & Pharmaceutical medicine
                Keywords: ecology, venom, defense, tetrodotoxin, pheromone

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