Recent Research on Marine Biotoxins and Seafood Poisoning

Dear Colleagues,

Marine biotoxins have drawn the attention of scientists due their substantial negative impacts on the ecosystem, human health, and the economy. Biotoxins are molecules which are both toxic and have a biological origin, being derived from microorganisms, plants, or animals. In today’s world, marine biotoxins appear to have grown in frequency, intensity, and geographical distribution.

Marine biotoxins can accumulate in seafoods, such as shellfish (e.g., mussels, oysters, and scallops), and cause severe intoxication when contaminated species are consumed. Different species of microorganism can produce marine biotoxins under certain conditions, such as anatoxin, produced by Anabaena, a genus of filamentous cyanobacteria, which has a lethal dosage of less than 5 mg / kg-day for an adult human male and can target almost every part of the body, from the liver, kidneys, and lungs to the vascular and lymphatic systems. In shellfish, biotoxins mainly accumulate in the digestive glands, avoiding triggering major impacts in the shellfish itself.

Nevertheless, serious intoxication (e.g., paralytic shellfish poisoning, amnesic shellfish poisoning, diarrheic shellfish poisoning, and neurotoxic shellfish poisoning) may potentially occur when significant numbers of infected shellfish are consumed by humans. Marine biotoxins are heat-stable and largely unaffected by cooking; thus, the prevention of intoxications is necessary through the extensive monitoring of marine biotoxin concentrations in seafood.

It is essential to highlight the necessity of fully addressing marine biotoxins and their impacts on human health through seafood poisoning. Therefore,  we are pleased to invite you to submit both original or review papers that (1) present cases and discuss the distribution and impacts of algal bloom and their biotoxins on ecosystems, fisheries, and human health; (2) introduce novel discovered marine biotoxins and their molecular structure; (3) demonstrate practical and novel methods for biotoxin removal; (4) explain methods and approaches for the identification and quantification of marine biotoxins; (5) highlight the impacts of marine biotoxins on the genetic diversity of their surroundings; (6) present biosensors to monitor biotoxins; and (7) conduct risk assessments for biotoxins at specific areas around the world. 

We look forward to receiving your contributions.

Dr. Gulnihal Ozbay
Dr. Ali Parsaeimehr
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Journal of Marine Science and Engineering 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 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

• biotoxins
• algal blooms
• ecosystem
• human health
• biotoxin removal
• genetic diversity
• risk assessment