[Studies on the effect of the neurolathyrogenic substance beta,beta'-iminodipropionitrile on the branchiopode Artemia salina (author's transl)].

beta,beta'-Iminodipropionitrile (IDPN) is a neurotoxic substance, which induces choreiform movements for life in rats and mice. As for the phenotype this seems to be a suitable animal model for the comparison with Huntington's chorea in man. In our experiments we have tested the effect of IDPN on different developmental stages of the branchiopode artermia salina. One-day old nauplii show the strongest reaction to the substance. As little as 10(-5) g IDPN/l culture medium induces in one-day old nauplii a characteristically altered swimming behavior. This behavioral response of the one-day old nauplii may possibly serve as a basis for a simple qualitative biological assay for the detection of IDPN or its effective metabolite, respectively.