Ecological functions of tetrodotoxin in a deadly polyclad flatworm
Ecological functions of tetrodotoxin in a deadly polyclad flatworm
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DOI：
10.1073/pnas.0506093103
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发表时间：
2006-02-28
影响因子：
11.1
通讯作者：
Paul, VJ
中科院分区：
文献类型：
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作者：
Ritson-Williams, R;Yotsu-Yamashita, M;Paul, VJ
致命的神经毒素河豚毒素（TTX）存在于各种动物门中，由于其毒性，通常被认为是阻止捕食。在热带太平洋岛屿关岛，我们发现了一种未描述的扁虫（Planocerid sp. 1），含有高水平的TTX及其类似物。通过生态实验，我们表明，TTXs不保护这些扁虫从一些捕食者，而是用来捕捉移动的猎物。TTX具有多种生态功能，这可能导致其广泛存在于原核生物和至少10个后生动物门中。
The deadly neurotoxin tetrodotoxin (TTX) is found in a variety of animal phyla and, because of its toxicity, is most often assumed to deter predation. On the tropical Pacific island of Guam, we found an undescribed flatworm (planocerid sp. 1) that contains high levels of TTX and its analogs. Through ecological experiments, we show that TTXs do not protect these flatworms from some predators but instead are used to capture mobile prey. TTX is known to have multiple ecological functions, which has probably led to its widespread presence among prokaryotes and at least 10 metazoan phyla.