Tetrodotoxin levels of the rough-skin newt, Taricha granulosa, increase in long-term captivity

Hanifin, Charles T.; Brodie, Edmund D.

doi:10.1016/s0041-0101(02)00115-0

Cited by 112 publications

(103 citation statements)

References 20 publications

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“…We extracted TTX from 1 cm 2 skin samples (Hanifin et al, 2002;Lehman, 2007) and measured TTX concentrations using high-performance liquid chromatography (New York samples) (Yasumoto and Michishita, 1985) or competitive inhibition enzymatic immunoassay (Virgania samples) (Lehman, 2007;Stokes et al, 2012), using the linear range of the standard curve between 10 and 500 ng ml − 1 to quantify TTX and scoring samples as lacking TTX with values less than the minimum level of detection (10 ng ml − 1 ; n = 1). It is noteworthy that these two methods of quantification (high-performance liquid chromatography and competitive inhibition enzymatic immunoassay) give nearly indistinguishable measures of TTX concentrations (Lehman, 2007).…”

Section: Prey Phenotype Assaysmentioning

confidence: 99%

Is there more than one way to skin a newt? Convergent toxin resistance in snakes is not due to a common genetic mechanism

et al. 2015

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Section: Prey Phenotype Assaysmentioning

confidence: 99%

Is there more than one way to skin a newt? Convergent toxin resistance in snakes is not due to a common genetic mechanism

et al. 2015

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“…Shimizu and Kobayashi [80] first observed that when various radioactive precursors were administered to two species of newts, Taricha torosa and T. granulosa, none of the precursors were incorporated into TTX molecules, although the authors did not clearly conclude whether TTX in the newts was endogenous or exogenous. On the other hand, Hanifin et al claim that newts can biosynthesize TTX by themselves, because TTX levels in the dorsal skin of T. granulosa significantly increased under artificial rearing with non-toxic diets for 1 year [81], and because the newts released a large amount of TTX from their skin after receiving an electric shock, but the TTX levels in the dorsal skin significantly recovered during the 9 months thereafter [82].…”

Section: Mechanism Of Ttx Accumulation In Amphibiansmentioning

confidence: 99%

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

Noguch

Arakawa

2008

Marine Drugs

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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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“…Parents reduce predation risk to their offspring with a variety of mechanisms, including provisioning offspring with chemical defences [1][2][3][4][5][6]. Parental endowment of chemical defences is a widespread strategy known from both invertebrates and vertebrates in marine and terrestrial ecosystems [1][2][3][4][5][6].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Parental endowment of chemical defences is a widespread strategy known from both invertebrates and vertebrates in marine and terrestrial ecosystems [1][2][3][4][5][6]. In certain groups of insects, the mechanism and ecology of chemical protection of offspring have received much attention (e.g.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Active foraging for toxic prey during gestation in a snake with maternal provisioning of sequestered chemical defences

Kojima

Mori

2015

Proc. R. Soc. B.

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Many animals sequester dietary defensive compounds and incorporate them into the offspring, which protects the young against predation. One possible but poorly investigated question is whether females of such species actively prey upon toxic diets. The snake Rhabdophis tigrinus sequesters defensive steroids from toads consumed as prey; it also feeds on other amphibians. Females produce chemically armed offspring in direct proportion to their own level of toad-derived toxins by provisioning the toxins to their eggs. Our field observations of movements and stomach contents of radio-tracked R. tigrinus showed that gravid snakes preyed upon toads by actively foraging in the habitat of toads, even though toads were a scarce resource and toad-searching may incur potential costs. Our Y-maze experiments demonstrated that gravid females were more likely to trail the chemical cues of toads than were males or non-gravid females. These results showed behavioural switching in females and active foraging for scarce, toxic prey during gestation. Because exploitation of toads by gravid females results in their offspring being more richly endowed with prey-derived toxins, active foraging for toxic prey is expected to be an adaptive antipredator trait, which may enhance chemical defence in offspring.

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Tetrodotoxin levels of the rough-skin newt, Taricha granulosa, increase in long-term captivity

Cited by 112 publications

References 20 publications

Is there more than one way to skin a newt? Convergent toxin resistance in snakes is not due to a common genetic mechanism

Is there more than one way to skin a newt? Convergent toxin resistance in snakes is not due to a common genetic mechanism

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

Active foraging for toxic prey during gestation in a snake with maternal provisioning of sequestered chemical defences

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