The Chemical and Evolutionary Ecology of Tetrodotoxin (TTX) Toxicity in Terrestrial Vertebrates
Year: 2010
Type: review
Abstract: Tetrodotoxin (TTX) is widely distributed in marine taxa, however in terrestrial taxa it is limited to a single class of vertebrates (Amphibia). Tetrodotoxin present in the skin and eggs of TTX-bearing amphibians primarily serves as an antipredator defense and these taxa have provided excellent models for the study of the evolution and chemical ecology of TTX toxicity. The origin of TTX present in terrestrial vertebrates is controversial. In marine organisms the accepted hypothesis is that the TTX present in metazoans results from either dietary uptake of bacterially produced TTX or symbiosis with TTX producing bacteria, but this hypothesis may not be applicable to TTX-bearing amphibians. Here I review the taxonomic distribution and evolutionary ecology of TTX in amphibians with some attention to the origin of TTX present in these taxa.
Source: Marine Drugs
DOI: 10.3390/md8030577
Author: Charles T. Hanifin
Institution: Hopkins Marine Station
Language: English
Subfield: Environmental Chemistry
Field: Environmental Science
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $3,499
OpenAlex ID: W2103004359