Marine Biotoxins, 4th Edition

Dear Colleagues,

In this new Special Issue titled Marine Biotoxins, 4th Edition, we invite the submission of manuscripts that explore the microorganisms responsible for marine biotoxin production—including bacteria, cyanobacteria, dinoflagellates, diatoms, and fungi—as well as the environmental conditions that promote their proliferation and transfer through the marine food web. The accumulation of marine biotoxins in invertebrates, fish, birds, and marine mammals poses a serious threat to wildlife, and several of these toxins also represent significant risks to human health through the consumption of contaminated seafood. As a result, regulatory thresholds must be continually assessed and refined to ensure food safety.

Marine biotoxins comprise various families of organic compounds with complex and diverse chemical structures, with new toxins continuing to be discovered each year. These toxins act on a wide range of cellular targets, including the following:

(i) Voltage-gated ion channels (Na⁺, K⁺, and Ca²⁺);
(ii) Ionotropic or ligand-gated receptors—such as glutamate (AMPA, kainate, and NMDA), nicotinic acetylcholine, 5-HT₃ (serotonin), and GABA-A receptors;
(iii) Metabotropic receptors, particularly G protein-coupled receptors which are linked to adenylate cyclase (G_s, G_i/o) or phospholipase C-β;
(iv) Intracellular cytosolic and nuclear receptors that influence gene transcription;
(v) Second messengers like calcium, inositol trisphosphate (IP₃), and diacylglycerol, which play critical roles in their mechanisms of action

Gaining a deeper understanding of the cellular and molecular targets, signaling pathways, and toxic mechanisms of marine biotoxins will be key to identifying potential antagonists and developing effective countermeasures.

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 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

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-anonymized 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.