Flewelling Leanne J, Naar Jerome P, Abbott Jay P, Baden Daniel G, Barros Nélio B, Bossart Gregory D, Bottein Marie-Yasmine D, Hammond Daniel G, Haubold Elsa M, Heil Cynthia A, Henry Michael S, Jacocks Henry M, Leighfield Tod A, Pierce Richard H, Pitchford Thomas D, Rommel Sentiel A, Scott Paula S, Steidinger Karen A, Truby Earnest W, Van Dolah Frances M, Landsberg Jan H
Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, Fish and Wildlife Research Institute, St Petersburg, Florida 33701, USA.
Nature. 2005 Jun 9;435(7043):755-6. doi: 10.1038/nature435755a.
Potent marine neurotoxins known as brevetoxins are produced by the 'red tide' dinoflagellate Karenia brevis. They kill large numbers of fish and cause illness in humans who ingest toxic filter-feeding shellfish or inhale toxic aerosols. The toxins are also suspected of having been involved in events in which many manatees and dolphins died, but this has usually not been verified owing to limited confirmation of toxin exposure, unexplained intoxication mechanisms and complicating pathologies. Here we show that fish and seagrass can accumulate high concentrations of brevetoxins and that these have acted as toxin vectors during recent deaths of dolphins and manatees, respectively. Our results challenge claims that the deleterious effects of a brevetoxin on fish (ichthyotoxicity) preclude its accumulation in live fish, and they reveal a new vector mechanism for brevetoxin spread through food webs that poses a threat to upper trophic levels.
一种名为短裸甲藻毒素的强效海洋神经毒素由“赤潮”双鞭毛藻短裸甲藻产生。它们会杀死大量鱼类，并使食用有毒滤食性贝类或吸入有毒气溶胶的人类患病。这些毒素还被怀疑与许多海牛和海豚死亡的事件有关，但由于毒素暴露的确认有限、中毒机制不明以及复杂的病理情况，这一点通常尚未得到证实。在此我们表明，鱼类和海草能够积累高浓度的短裸甲藻毒素，并且在近期海豚和海牛死亡事件中，它们分别充当了毒素载体。我们的结果对短裸甲藻毒素对鱼类的有害影响（鱼毒性）会阻止其在活鱼体内积累的说法提出了质疑，并且揭示了短裸甲藻毒素通过食物网传播的一种新的载体机制，这对较高营养级构成了威胁。
