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Distribution of tetrodotoxin in the New Zealand clam, Paphies australis, established using immunohistochemistry and liquid chromatography-tandem quadrupole mass spectrometry

Abstract
Tetrodotoxin (TTX) is one of the most potent neurotoxins known. It was originally thought to only occur in puffer fish but has now been identified in twelve different classes of freshwater and marine organisms, including bivalves. Despite being one of the world’s most studied biotoxins, its origin remains uncertain. There is contradictory evidence regarding the source of TTX and its pathway through food webs. To date, the distribution of TTX has not been examined in bivalves. In the present study, 48 Paphies australis, a TTX-containing clam species endemic to New Zealand, were collected. Thirty clams were dissected, and organs and tissues pooled into five categories (siphons, digestive gland, adductor muscles, and the ‘rest’) and analyzed for TTX using liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS). The micro-distribution of TTX was visualized in the remaining 18 individuals using an immunohistological technique incorporating a TTX-specific monoclonal antibody. The LC-MS analysis revealed that siphons contained the highest concentrations of TTX (mean 403.8 µg/kg). Immunohistochemistry analysis showed TTX in the outer cells of the siphons, but also in the digestive system, foot, and gill tissue. Observing TTX in organs involved in feeding provides initial evidence to support the hypothesis of an exogenous source in P. australis.
Type
Journal Article
Type of thesis
Series
Citation
Biessy, L., Smith, K. F., Boundy, M. J., Webb, S., Hawes, I., & Wood, S. A. (2018). Distribution of tetrodotoxin in the New Zealand clam, Paphies australis, established using immunohistochemistry and liquid chromatography-tandem quadrupole mass spectrometry. Toxins, 10(7). https://doi.org/10.3390/toxins10070282
Date
2018
Publisher
MDPI
Degree
Supervisors
Rights
© 2018 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).