Secretion and regeneration of tetrodotoxin in the rough-skin newt (Taricha granulosa).

Rough-skin newts (Taricha granulosa) released tetrodotoxin (TTX) in their skin secretions in response to mild electric stimulation. This release resulted in a large (21% to almost 90% of the pre-stimulation levels) reduction in the amount of TTX present in the dorsal skin of individual newts. Over the next 9 months newts significantly regenerated the levels of TTX in their skin. These data, in combination with previously published results, are consistent with the hypothesis that these newts produce their own TTX.