Special Issue "Tetrodotoxin"

Guest Editor
Prof. Dr. Peter C. Ruben
Department of Biomedical Physiology & Kinesiology, Simon Fraser University, 8888 University Drive, Burnaby, BC V5A 1S6, Canada
Website: http://www.sfu.ca/bpk/faculty_directory/ruben/
E-Mail:
Phone: +1 778 782 3497
Fax: +1 778 782 3040
Interests: voltage-gated ion channels; toxins; evolution

Dear Colleagues,

Toxins, and their actions on target molecules, provide insight into predator/prey interactions, co-evolutionary arms races, molecular properties, and structure/function relationships. Toxins also hold promise for therapeutic interventions and serve as a template for rational drug design. Tetrodotoxin is a ubiquitous toxin with highly specific actions. Tetrodotoxin’s ability to block voltage-gated sodium channels has been a fruitful area of research for many years and has led to a number of insights from the molecular level through to the grand scale of evolution. It even has epicurean significance, sometimes with lethal results. Tetrodotoxin has been used as a tool to map the structure and the biophysical properties of voltage-gated sodium channels, and is routinely used to differentiate between sodium channel orthologs.

This special issue of the journal Marine Drugs focuses on tetrodotoxin and seeks to emphasize the importance of the toxin as a research tool, as a potential therapeutic agent, and as a key for understanding animal behavior and natural selection. It is my honor to serve as Guest Editor for this special issue, and to invite scientists to report recent advances on the full spectrum of research questions associated with tetrodotoxin. I eagerly anticipate working with you towards a successful special issue of Marine Drugs dedicated to this important toxin.

Prof. Dr. Peter Ruben
Guest Editor

Submission

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. Papers will be published continuously (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are refereed through a peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Marine Drugs is an international peer-reviewed Open Access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1600 CHF (Swiss Francs).

• voltage-gated sodium channels
• chemical defense
• ionic currents
• puffer fish
• selectivity filter