Acute Toxicity Assessment: Macroscopic and Ultrastructural Effects in Mice Treated with Oral Tetrodotoxin.

Tetrodotoxin (TTX) is an extremely toxic marine compound produced by different genera of bacteria that can reach humans through ingestion mainly of pufferfish but also of other contaminated fish species, marine gastropods or bivalves. TTX blocks voltage-gated sodium channels inhibiting neurotransmission, which in severe cases triggers cardiorespiratory failure. Although TTX has been responsible for many human intoxications limited toxicological data are available. The recent expansion of TTX from Asian to European waters and diversification of TTX-bearing organisms entail an emerging risk of food poisoning. This study is focused on the acute toxicity assessment of TTX administered to mice by oral gavage following macroscopic and microscopic studies. Necropsy revealed that TTX induced stomach swelling 2 h after administration, even though no ultrastructural alterations were further detected. However, transmission electron microscopy images showed an increase of lipid droplets in hepatocytes, swollen mitochondria in spleens, and alterations of rough endoplasmic reticulum in intestines as hallmarks of the cellular damage. These findings suggested that gastrointestinal effects should be considered when evaluating human TTX poisoning.

A roadmap for hazard monitoring and risk assessment of marine biotoxins on the basis of chemical and biological test systems.

Aquatic food accounts for over 40% of global animal food products, and the potential contamination with toxins of algal origin--marine biotoxins--poses a health threat for consumers. The gold standards to assess toxins in aquatic food have traditionally been in vivo methods, i.e., the mouse as well as the rat bioassay. Besides ethical concerns, there is also a need for more reliable test methods because of low inter-species comparability, high intra-species variability, the high number of false positive and negative results as well as questionable extrapolation of quantitative risk to humans. For this reason, a transatlantic group of experts in the field of marine biotoxins was convened from academia and regulatory safety authorities to discuss future approaches to marine biotoxin testing. In this report they provide a background on the toxin classes, on their chemical characterization, the epidemiology, on risk assessment and management, as well as on their assumed mode of action. Most importantly, physiological functional assays such as in vitro bioassays and also analytical techniques, e.g., liquid chromatography coupled mass spectrometry (LC-MS), as substitutes for the rodent bioassay are reviewed. This forms the basis for recommendations on methodologies for hazard monitoring and risk assessment, establishment of causality of intoxications in human cases, a roadmap for research and development of human-relevant functional assays, as well as new approaches for a consumer directed safety concept.

Sustainable production of biologically active molecules of marine based origin.

The marine environment offers both economic and scientific potential which are relatively untapped from a biotechnological point of view. These environments whilst harsh are ironically fragile and dependent on a harmonious life form balance. Exploitation of natural resources by exhaustive wild harvesting has obvious negative environmental consequences. From a European industry perspective marine organisms are a largely underutilised resource. This is not due to lack of interest but due to a lack of choice the industry faces for cost competitive, sustainable and environmentally conscientious product alternatives. Knowledge of the biotechnological potential of marine organisms together with the development of sustainable systems for their cultivation, processing and utilisation are essential. In 2010, the European Commission recognised this need and funded a collaborative RTD/SME project under the Framework 7-Knowledge Based Bio-Economy (KBBE) Theme 2 Programme 'Sustainable culture of marine microorganisms, algae and/or invertebrates for high value added products'. The scope of that project entitled 'Sustainable Production of Biologically Active Molecules of Marine Based Origin' (BAMMBO) is outlined. Although the Union is a global leader in many technologies, it faces increasing competition from traditional rivals and emerging economies alike and must therefore improve its innovation performance. For this reason innovation is placed at the heart of a European Horizon 2020 Strategy wherein the challenge is to connect economic performance to eco performance. This article provides a synopsis of the research activities of the BAMMBO project as they fit within the wider scope of sustainable environmentally conscientious marine resource exploitation for high-value biomolecules.

Evidence of Methylobacterium spp. and Hyphomicrobium sp. in azaspiracid toxin contaminated mussel tissues and assessment of the effect of azaspiracid on their growth.

A flagellar protein belonging to the genus Methylobacterium or Agrobacterium was previously observed by proteomics in azaspiracids (AZA) toxic mussels. Here, we report the isolation of two different Methylobacterium spp. (NTx1 and Tx1) from non-toxic and AZA toxic mussels, respectively, which when co-cultured with AZA exhibited significantly different growth responses - isolate Tx1 growth rate was enhanced, whereas growth of isolate NTx1 was adversely affected, compared to non-AZA supplemented control cultures. A Hyphomicrobium sp. (Tx2) also isolated from the toxic mussels achieved greater cell density in AZAs supplemented cultures.