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Taxonomic Distribution of Tetrodotoxin in Acotylean Flatworms (Polycladida: Platyhelminthes)

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Abstract

Tetrodotoxin (TTX), also known as pufferfish toxin, causes a respiratory disorder by blocking neurotransmission, with voltage-gated sodium channel inhibition on muscle and nerve tissues. The toxin is widely distributed across vertebrates, invertebrates and bacteria. Therefore, it is generally thought that TTX in pufferfish accumulates via the food webs, beginning with marine bacteria as a primary producer. Polyclad flatworms in the genus Planocera are also known to be highly toxic, TTX-bearing organisms. Unlike the case of pufferfish, the source of TTX in these flatworms is unknown. In this study, taxonomical distribution patterns of TTX were investigated for acotylean flatworms from coastal waters using molecular phylogenetic analysis and high performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). A maximum likelihood tree based on the 28S rRNA gene sequence showed that the flatworms belonged to several different lineages among the genera Planocera, Stylochus, Paraplanocera, Discocelis, Notocomplana, Notoplana, Callioplana and Peudostylochus. After LC-MS/MS analysis, the distribution of TTX was mapped onto the molecular phylogenetic tree. TTX-bearing flatworm species were seen to be restricted to specific Planocera lineages, suggesting that the TTX-bearing flatworm species have common genes for TTX-accumulating mechanisms.

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Acknowledgements

We express sincere thanks to Ms. Masami Hashimoto and staff of Diving Shop NANA for collecting samples.

Funding

This study was supported in part by the Toyo Suisan Foundation (S.I.), Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (B) from Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS) (15H04552, S.I.), Grant-in-Aid for Challenging Research (Exploratory) from JSPS (18K19238, S.I.) and Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (A) from JSPS (19H00954, S.I.).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Marine Science and Resources, Nihon University, Fujisawa, 252-0880, Japan

    Maho Kashitani, Taiki Okabe, Hikaru Oyama, Kaede Noguchi, Rei Suo, Haruo Sugita & Shiro Itoi

  2. Department of Biotechnology and Life Science, Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology, Koganei, Tokyo, 184-8588, Japan

    Haruka Yamazaki & Tetsushi Mori

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  1. Maho Kashitani
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  2. Taiki Okabe
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  3. Hikaru Oyama
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  4. Kaede Noguchi
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  5. Haruka Yamazaki
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  6. Rei Suo
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  7. Tetsushi Mori
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  8. Haruo Sugita
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  9. Shiro Itoi
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Correspondence to Shiro Itoi.

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Kashitani, M., Okabe, T., Oyama, H. et al. Taxonomic Distribution of Tetrodotoxin in Acotylean Flatworms (Polycladida: Platyhelminthes). Mar Biotechnol 22, 805–811 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10126-020-09968-1

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