Cloning and Distribution of a Putative Tetrodotoxin-Resistant Na⁺Channel in Newt Retina

The Chemical and Evolutionary Ecology of Tetrodotoxin (TTX) Toxicity in Terrestrial Vertebrates

“…Earlier investigations specifically examined A. tigrinum for the presence of TTX and did not detect any evidence of TTX of a TTX-like toxin [ 59 ] nor did an additional examination of a single Ambystoma tigrinum using HPLC-FLD by this author (unpublished data). More significantly, species of Ambystoma are highly sensitive to TTX [ 26 , 33 , 57 , 63 ], yet other TTX-bearing salamanders (as well as other TTX-bearing vertebrates) are highly resistant to TTX [ 22 , 25 , 26 , 32 , 60 , 63 , 77 , 78 ]. Given that the report of TTX in this species is based on a single animal with questionable provenance [ 12 ], a reexamination of the presence of TTX in Ambystoma seems to be in order.…”