Dinoflagellate toxins

Protozoa and Porifera. The pharmacology and toxicology of the dinoflagellate toxins which act upon the voltage- and time-dependent sodium channel found in nerves of vertebrates and invertebrates, and the skeletal muscle of vertebrates, are discussed in other chapters in this volume. 

To determine the effect of lowered body temperature on mortality, groups of toxin-treated mice were maintained at several elevated temperatures and their survival rates monitored. Because of the limited quantity of fish toxin, only the dinoflagellate toxin could be administered to a significant number of animals held at various temperatures. Groups of eight mice treated with one-half of an LD o dose were placed at four different ajribient temperatures. 

Both toxins exhibit similar dose-response profiles and both toxins elicit the apparent hypothermia to the same extent and for the same duration. This response, whether promoted by the fish toxin or the dinoflagellate toxin, is reversed by increasing ambient temperature. In addition, both toxins evoke equivalent gross symptoms of malaise. These similarities in biological traits suggest that more than a casual relationship exists between ciguatoxin and maitotoxin. 

White, A.W., Dinoflagellate toxins as probable cause of an Atlantic Herring (Clupea harengus) kill, and pteropods as an apparent vector, J. Fish. Res. Board Can., 34, 2421, 1977. 

Baden, D.G. 1983. Marine food-borne dinoflagellate toxins. IntRev Cytol 82, 99-150. 

Eaglesham, G.K., Shaw, G.R., Smith, M.R., Burgess, Y., and Moore, M.R. 2000b. Human diarrhoetic shellfish poisoning incident involving dinoflagellate toxins in south-east Queensland, Australia. Abstract. Toxicol Lett 116, 49. 

An extract of the digestive glands of P. yessoensis, collected fiom the aforementioned location, upon fractionation gave a new polyether toxin, yessotoxin[114]. The structure of which was determined by spectroscopic methods (92) and has the chemical characteristics of dinoflagellate toxins isolated from Gymnodinium breve (93). Recently, toxic mussels collected from Ban try Bay, Ireland, were found to contain dinophysistoxin-2 (DTX2) [115] (94). 

Domoic acid, causing amnesic shellfish poisoning (ASP) Dinoflagellate toxins... 

Yasumoto, T., Recent progress in the chemistry of dinoflagellate toxins, in Toxic Dinoflagellates, Proceedings of the Third International Conference, Anderson, D.M., White, A.W., and Baden, D.G., Eds., Elsevier/North Holland, New York, 1985, 259. 

Baden, D.G., Brevetoxins unique polyether dinoflagellate toxins. Easeb J, 1989 3(7) 1807-1817. 

Trainer, V.L. and Poh, M.A., Assays for dinoflagellate toxins, specifically brevetoxin, ciguatoxin, and saxitoxin, in Animal Toxins. Tools in Cell Biology. A Laboratory Companion, Rochat, FI. and Martin-Euclaire, M.-F, Eds, Chapman and Hall, Weinheim, Germany, 2000. 

Martin, D.E. and Padilla, G.M., Some physiological properties of dinoflagellate toxins, in Physiologically Active Compounds from Marine Organisms, Humm, H.J. and Lane, C.E. (eds.) Marcel Dekker, St. Pertersburg, PL, 1974, p. 151. 

There is no evidence that the Neuse River toxin has yet been experimented with by the military, probably due to the toxin and bacteriological ban treaty. However, four dinoflagellate toxins were a part of the U.S. inventory in the not-so-far-distant past. Natural poisons were experimented with as far back as World War I. Crystalline ricin is confirmed at two World War I university sites and concerns us because of its purported stability and the ability to refine large quantities. By some accounts, it may be two orders of magnitude deadlier than sarin or as deadly as VX or soman. Ricin was the agent in the British M bomb developed for World War II. 

Sullivan JJ (1986) Analytical techniques for dinoflagellate toxins. In Mycotoxins and Phycotoxins, Steyn PS, Vleggar R (eds). Elsevier Science Publishers B.V. Amsterdam, Netherlands, p 317-327. 

Shimizu, Y. Dinoflagellate Toxins in Marine Natural Products, Chemical and Biological Perspectives Vol. I, p. 1—42. New York Academic Press. 1979. 

Early studies on the effects of dinoflagellate toxins were made by culturing dinoflagellates in vessels, and then placing fish in water taken from these cultures (Gates Wilson 1960 Ray Aldrich 1967 Sievers 1969). Although an ecologically unrealistic approach for most systems and species, these experiments are... 

Many general publications on dinoflagellate toxins and toxic blooms have appeared during the past 20 years. There is much of interest in the following books and... 

For a recent and general review on the biosyntheses of dinoflagellate toxins, see Kalaitzis et al., 2010. 

Baden, D.G. (1989) Brevetoxins unique polyefher dinoflagellate toxins. FASEBJ., 3,1807-1817. 

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