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Marine Drugs
Special Issues
Marine Biotoxins 2.0
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Marine Biotoxins 2.0

A special issue of Marine Drugs (ISSN 1660-3397).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (28 February 2023) | Viewed by 15542

Special Issue Editor

Prof. Dr. Jordi Molgó

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
CEA, INRAE, Institut des Sciences du Vivant Frédéric Joliot, Département Médicaments et Technologies pour la Santé (DMTS), Equipe Mixte de Recherche CNRS n° 9004, Service d’Ingénierie Moléculaire pour la Santé (SIMoS), Université Paris-Saclay, Bâtiment 152, rue de la Biologie, Point courrier 24, F-91191 Gif sur Yvette, France
Interests: natural toxins from marine and terrestrial organisms; voltage-gated ion channels; ligand gated channels; nicotinic acetylcholine receptors; cholinesterases; IP3 receptors; cell signaling; synaptic transmission; neuromuscular transmission; transmitter release
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The articles published in the Special Issue “Marine Biotoxins” (https://www.mdpi.com/si/marinedrugs/MarineBiotoxins) were widely viewed, which motivated us to launch a second edition.

In this new edition, we welcome manuscripts dealing with the microorganisms that produce marine biotoxins (bacteria, cyanobacteria, dinoflagellates, diatoms, and fungi), the environmental factors favoring their proliferation, and their vectorial transfer through the food web. The transfer of marine biotoxins to invertebrates, fish, birds, and marine mammals constitutes a menace for wildlife. Some marine biotoxins definitely constitute a threat for human consumers of contaminated shellfish and fish, and regulatory limits need to be evaluated and discussed. Most marine biotoxins belong to different families of organic molecules, with diverse and rich chemical structures, and new biotoxins are described every year. The cellular targets on which marine biotoxins may act are numerous, and include (i) ion channels (voltage-gated Na+, K+, or Ca2+ channels); (ii) ionotropic receptors or ligand-gated channels—such as glutamate receptors (AMPA, Kainate, and NMDA receptors), nicotinic acetylcholine receptors, serotonin 3 (5HT3) receptors, and γ-aminobutyric acid (GABAA receptors); (iii) metabotropic receptors, including G-protein coupled receptors, coupled to adenylate cyclase (GS, Gi/o), or to phospholipase C-β; (iv) other targets of marine biotoxins include intracellular cytosolic and nuclear receptors that may affect mRNA and protein transcription; and (v) the role of second messengers such as calcium, inositol trisphosphate (IP3), and diacylglycerol, which is also another important aspect of the mode of action of marine toxins that needs to be better known. Therefore, the better we know the cellular and molecular mode of action as well as the signaling pathways used by marine biotoxins to exert their toxic activities, the more possibilities we will have to find putative antagonist, or effective countermeasures.

This Special Issue of “Marine Biotoxins 2.0” is open to original research articles and reviews dealing with the following subjects:

  • Identification of new and emergent marine biotoxins from bacteria, cyanobacteria, fungi, dinoflagellates, and diatoms;
  • Characterization of new marine biotoxin chemical structures;
  • Biosynthetic pathways involved in biotoxin production;
  • Cellular and molecular signaling pathways implicated in marine biotoxin action;
  • Pharmacology and the structure–activity relationship;
  • Bio-distribution, metabolism, and acute and chronic toxicity in animal models;
  • Molecular interaction(s) of marine biotoxins with their putative receptors;
  • Potential therapeutic uses of marine biotoxins.

Prof. Dr. Jordi Molgó
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

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. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short 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 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. 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 2900 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.

Keywords

  • marine biotoxins
  • biosynthesis
  • pharmacology
  • molecular target(s)
  • signaling pathways
  • metabolism
  • toxicity
  • molecular interactions
  • therapeutic potential

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Related Special Issues

Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

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27 pages, 5725 KiB  
Article
The Cyclic Imine Core Common to the Marine Macrocyclic Toxins Is Sufficient to Dictate Nicotinic Acetylcholine Receptor Antagonism
by Yves Bourne, Gerlind Sulzenbacher, Laurent Chabaud, Rómulo Aráoz, Zoran Radić, Sandrine Conrod, Palmer Taylor, Catherine Guillou, Jordi Molgó and Pascale Marchot
Mar. Drugs 2024, 22(4), 149; https://doi.org/10.3390/md22040149 - 27 Mar 2024
Viewed by 1708
Abstract
Macrocyclic imine phycotoxins are an emerging class of chemical compounds associated with harmful algal blooms and shellfish toxicity. Earlier binding and electrophysiology experiments on nAChR subtypes and their soluble AChBP surrogates evidenced common trends for substantial antagonism, binding affinities, and receptor-subtype selectivity. Earlier, [...] Read more.
Macrocyclic imine phycotoxins are an emerging class of chemical compounds associated with harmful algal blooms and shellfish toxicity. Earlier binding and electrophysiology experiments on nAChR subtypes and their soluble AChBP surrogates evidenced common trends for substantial antagonism, binding affinities, and receptor-subtype selectivity. Earlier, complementary crystal structures of AChBP complexes showed that common determinants within the binding nest at each subunit interface confer high-affinity toxin binding, while distinctive determinants from the flexible loop C, and either capping the nest or extending toward peripheral subsites, dictate broad versus narrow receptor subtype selectivity. From these data, small spiroimine enantiomers mimicking the functional core motif of phycotoxins were chemically synthesized and characterized. Voltage-clamp analyses involving three nAChR subtypes revealed preserved antagonism for both enantiomers, despite lower subtype specificity and binding affinities associated with faster reversibility compared with their macrocyclic relatives. Binding and structural analyses involving two AChBPs pointed to modest affinities and positional variability of the spiroimines, along with a range of AChBP loop-C conformations denoting a prevalence of antagonistic properties. These data highlight the major contribution of the spiroimine core to binding within the nAChR nest and confirm the need for an extended interaction network as established by the macrocyclic toxins to define high affinities and marked subtype specificity. This study identifies a minimal set of functional pharmacophores and binding determinants as templates for designing new antagonists targeting disease-associated nAChR subtypes. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Marine Biotoxins 2.0)
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23 pages, 4789 KiB  
Article
First Characterization of Ostreopsis cf. ovata (Dinophyceae) and Detection of Ovatoxins during a Multispecific and Toxic Ostreopsis Bloom on French Atlantic Coast
by Nicolas Chomérat, Elvire Antajan, Isabelle Auby, Gwenael Bilien, Liliane Carpentier, Marie-Noëlle de Casamajor, Florian Ganthy, Fabienne Hervé, Magali Labadie, Claire Méteigner, Camille Paradis, Myriam Perrière-Rumèbe, Florence Sanchez, Véronique Séchet and Zouher Amzil
Mar. Drugs 2022, 20(7), 461; https://doi.org/10.3390/md20070461 - 18 Jul 2022
Cited by 22 | Viewed by 4312
Abstract
Blooms of the benthic toxic dinoflagellate genus Ostreopsis have been recorded more frequently during the last two decades, particularly in warm temperate areas such as the Mediterranean Sea. The proliferation of Ostreopsis species may cause deleterious effects on ecosystems and can impact human [...] Read more.
Blooms of the benthic toxic dinoflagellate genus Ostreopsis have been recorded more frequently during the last two decades, particularly in warm temperate areas such as the Mediterranean Sea. The proliferation of Ostreopsis species may cause deleterious effects on ecosystems and can impact human health through skin contact or aerosol inhalation. In the eastern Atlantic Ocean, the toxic O. cf. ovata has not yet been reported to the north of Portugal, and the only species present further north was O. cf. siamensis, for which the toxic risk is considered low. During summer blooms of unidentified Ostreopsis species on the French Basque coast (Atlantic) in 2020 and 2021, people suffered from irritations and respiratory disorders, and the number of analyzed cases reached 674 in 2021. In order to investigate the causes, sampling was carried out during summer 2021 to (i) taxonomically identify Ostreopsis species present using a molecular approach, (ii) isolate strains from the bloom and culture them, and (iii) characterize the presence of known toxins which may be involved. For the first time, this study reports the presence of both O. cf. siamensis and O. cf. ovata, for which the French Basque coast is a new upper distribution limit. Furthermore, the presence of ovatoxins a, b, c, and d in the environmental sample and in a cultivated strain in culture confirmed the toxic nature of the bloom and allowed identifying O. cf. ovata as the producer. The present data identify a new health risk in the area and highlight the extended distribution of some harmful dinoflagellates, presumably in relation to climate change. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Marine Biotoxins 2.0)
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21 pages, 2009 KiB  
Article
Evaluating Age and Growth Relationship to Ciguatoxicity in Five Coral Reef Fish Species from French Polynesia
by Hélène Taiana Darius, Christelle Paillon, Gérard Mou-Tham, André Ung, Philippe Cruchet, Taina Revel, Jérôme Viallon, Laurent Vigliola, Dominique Ponton and Mireille Chinain
Mar. Drugs 2022, 20(4), 251; https://doi.org/10.3390/md20040251 - 1 Apr 2022
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 3338
Abstract
Ciguatera poisoning (CP) results from the consumption of coral reef fish or marine invertebrates contaminated with potent marine polyether compounds, namely ciguatoxins. In French Polynesia, 220 fish specimens belonging to parrotfish (Chlorurus microrhinos, Scarus forsteni, and Scarus ghobban), surgeonfish [...] Read more.
Ciguatera poisoning (CP) results from the consumption of coral reef fish or marine invertebrates contaminated with potent marine polyether compounds, namely ciguatoxins. In French Polynesia, 220 fish specimens belonging to parrotfish (Chlorurus microrhinos, Scarus forsteni, and Scarus ghobban), surgeonfish (Naso lituratus), and groupers (Epinephelus polyphekadion) were collected from two sites with contrasted risk of CP, i.e., Kaukura Atoll versus Mangareva Island. Fish age and growth were assessed from otoliths’ yearly increments and their ciguatoxic status (negative, suspect, or positive) was evaluated by neuroblastoma cell-based assay. Using permutational multivariate analyses of variance, no significant differences in size and weight were found between negative and suspect specimens while positive specimens showed significantly greater size and weight particularly for E. polyphekadion and S. ghobban. However, eating small or low-weight specimens remains risky due to the high variability in size and weight of positive fish. Overall, no relationship could be evidenced between fish ciguatoxicity and age and growth characteristics. In conclusion, size, weight, age, and growth are not reliable determinants of fish ciguatoxicity which appears to be rather species and/or site-specific, although larger fish pose an increased risk of poisoning. Such findings have important implications in current CP risk management programs. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Marine Biotoxins 2.0)
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Review

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23 pages, 1682 KiB  
Review
Marine Neurotoxins’ Effects on Environmental and Human Health: An OMICS Overview
by Sophie Guillotin and Nicolas Delcourt
Mar. Drugs 2022, 20(1), 18; https://doi.org/10.3390/md20010018 - 23 Dec 2021
Cited by 7 | Viewed by 5162
Abstract
Harmful algal blooms (HAB), and the consequent release of toxic metabolites, can be responsible for seafood poisoning outbreaks. Marine wildlife can accumulate these toxins throughout the food chain, which presents a threat to consumers’ health. Some of these toxins, such as saxitoxin (STX), [...] Read more.
Harmful algal blooms (HAB), and the consequent release of toxic metabolites, can be responsible for seafood poisoning outbreaks. Marine wildlife can accumulate these toxins throughout the food chain, which presents a threat to consumers’ health. Some of these toxins, such as saxitoxin (STX), domoic acid (DA), ciguatoxin (CTX), brevetoxin (BTX), tetrodotoxin (TTX), and β-N-methylamino-L-alanine (BMAA), cause severe neurological symptoms in humans. Considerable information is missing, however, notably the consequences of toxin exposures on changes in gene expression, protein profile, and metabolic pathways. This information could lead to understanding the consequence of marine neurotoxin exposure in aquatic organisms and humans. Nevertheless, recent contributions to the knowledge of neurotoxins arise from OMICS-based research, such as genomics, transcriptomics, proteomics, and metabolomics. This review presents a comprehensive overview of the most recent research and of the available solutions to explore OMICS datasets in order to identify new features in terms of ecotoxicology, food safety, and human health. In addition, future perspectives in OMICS studies are discussed. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Marine Biotoxins 2.0)
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