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Marine Drugs
Volume 19
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10.3390/md19120670
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Article

Geographic Variations in the Toxin Profile of the Xanthid Crab Zosimus aeneus in a Single Reef on Ishigaki Island, Okinawa, Japan

by
Yuchengmin Zhang
1,
Hideto Tsutsui
2,
Nobuhiro Yamawaki
2,
Yasuhiro Morii
2,
Gregory N. Nishihara
3,
Shiro Itoi
4,
Osamu Arakawa
1 and
Tomohiro Takatani
1,*
1
Graduate School of Fisheries and Environmental Sciences, Nagasaki University, Bunkyo-machi 1–14, Nagasaki 852-8521, Japan
2
Faculty of Fisheries, Nagasaki University, Bunkyo-machi 1–14, Nagasaki 852-8521, Japan
3
Institute for East China Sea Research, Graduate School of Fisheries and Environmental Sciences, Organization for Marine Science and Technology, Nagasaki University, Nagasaki 851-2213, Japan
4
Department of Marine Science and Resources, Nihon University, Fujisawa 252-0880, Japan
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Mar. Drugs 2021, 19(12), 670; https://doi.org/10.3390/md19120670
Submission received: 29 October 2021 / Revised: 25 November 2021 / Accepted: 25 November 2021 / Published: 26 November 2021
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Marine Toxins in Non-traditional Vectors)
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Abstract

Toxic crabs of the family Xanthidae contain saxitoxins (STXs) and/or tetrodotoxin (TTX), but the toxin ratio differs depending on their habitat. In the present study, to clarify within reef variations in the toxin profile of xanthid crabs, we collected specimens of the toxic xanthid crab Zosimus aeneus and their sampling location within a single reef (Yoshihara reef) on Ishigaki Island, Okinawa Prefecture, Japan, in 2018 and 2019. The STXs/TTX content within the appendages and viscera or stomach contents of each specimen was determined by instrumental analyses. Our findings revealed the existence of three zones in Yoshihara reef; one in which many individuals accumulate extremely high concentrations of STXs (northwestern part of the reef; NW zone), another in which individuals generally have small amounts of TTX but little STXs (central part of the reef; CTR zone), and a third in which individuals generally exhibit intermediate characteristics (southeastern part of the reef; SE zone). Furthermore, light microscopic observations of the stomach contents of crab specimens collected from the NW and CTR zones revealed that ascidian spicules of the genus Lissoclinum were dominant in the NW zone, whereas those of the genus Trididemnum were dominant in the CTR zone. Although the toxicity of these ascidians is unknown, Lissoclinum ascidians are considered good candidate source organisms of STXs harbored by toxic xanthid crabs.
Keywords: paralytic shellfish toxin; tetrodotoxin; xanthid crab; Zosimus aeneus; stomach content; morphometric observation; ascidian spicules paralytic shellfish toxin; tetrodotoxin; xanthid crab; Zosimus aeneus; stomach content; morphometric observation; ascidian spicules

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MDPI and ACS Style

Zhang, Y.; Tsutsui, H.; Yamawaki, N.; Morii, Y.; Nishihara, G.N.; Itoi, S.; Arakawa, O.; Takatani, T. Geographic Variations in the Toxin Profile of the Xanthid Crab Zosimus aeneus in a Single Reef on Ishigaki Island, Okinawa, Japan. Mar. Drugs 2021, 19, 670. https://doi.org/10.3390/md19120670

AMA Style

Zhang Y, Tsutsui H, Yamawaki N, Morii Y, Nishihara GN, Itoi S, Arakawa O, Takatani T. Geographic Variations in the Toxin Profile of the Xanthid Crab Zosimus aeneus in a Single Reef on Ishigaki Island, Okinawa, Japan. Marine Drugs. 2021; 19(12):670. https://doi.org/10.3390/md19120670

Chicago/Turabian Style

Zhang, Yuchengmin, Hideto Tsutsui, Nobuhiro Yamawaki, Yasuhiro Morii, Gregory N. Nishihara, Shiro Itoi, Osamu Arakawa, and Tomohiro Takatani. 2021. "Geographic Variations in the Toxin Profile of the Xanthid Crab Zosimus aeneus in a Single Reef on Ishigaki Island, Okinawa, Japan" Marine Drugs 19, no. 12: 670. https://doi.org/10.3390/md19120670

APA Style

Zhang, Y., Tsutsui, H., Yamawaki, N., Morii, Y., Nishihara, G. N., Itoi, S., Arakawa, O., & Takatani, T. (2021). Geographic Variations in the Toxin Profile of the Xanthid Crab Zosimus aeneus in a Single Reef on Ishigaki Island, Okinawa, Japan. Marine Drugs, 19(12), 670. https://doi.org/10.3390/md19120670

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