Toxic Flatworm Egg Plates Serve as a Possible Source of Tetrodotoxin for Pufferfish.

ABSTRACT: The pufferfish Takifugu niphobles (at present Takifugu alboplumbeus) possesses highly concentrated tetrodotoxin (TTX), an extremely potent neurotoxin that provides effective protection from predators, at least at the larval stages. However, the source of the toxin has remained unclear. Recently, DNA from the toxic flatworm Planocera multitentaculata was detected in the intestinal contents of juveniles and young of the pufferfish, suggesting that the flatworm contributes to its toxification at various stages of its life. In this study, we describe the behavior of the pufferfish in the intertidal zone that appears to contribute to its toxification before and during its spawning period: pufferfish were found to aggregate and ingest flatworm egg plates by scraping them off

SUBMITTER: Okabe T 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6669758 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature