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Maturation-associated changes in internal distribution and intra-ovarian microdistribution of tetrodotoxin in the pufferfish Takifugu pardalis

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  • Chemistry and Biochemistry
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Abstract

To clarify the maturation-associated accumulation profile of tetrodotoxin (TTX) in the female pufferfish Takifugu pardalis, specimens collected from Omura Bay, Nagasaki Prefecture, Japan, from November through December, 2014, were separated based on the histology of ovarian sections into four groups: yolk vesicle stage (Yv), yolk globule stage (Yg)-1, Yg-2, and Yg-3. TTX quantification in each tissue in each group by liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry revealed that the TTX concentration [mouse unit (MU)/g] in the ovary increased from Yv to Yg-1, and the TTX amount (MU/individual) in the ovary increased from Yg-1 through Yg-3. In Yv, TTX in the skin accounted for 86% of the total TTX in the body, whereas from Yg-1 through Yg-3, ovarian TTX accounted for 53–76% of the total. In female specimens collected from the same bay from February to May 2015, the TTX amount in the ovary markedly decreased after spawning, and the TTX amount in the liver increased. Immunohistochemical observation of the ovarian sections indicated that TTX localized mainly in the nucleus of immature oocytes, but then distributes to the yolk vesicles and yolk globules as maturation advances, and is partly transferred to the egg membrane as spawning approaches.

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Acknowledgements

The authors express their sincere thanks to Mr. Yuto Ikekita and Ms. Chihiro Morikawa at the Graduate School of Fisheries and Environmental Science, Nagasaki University, for their kind assistance with the sample collection and experiments. This study was supported in part by Grant-in-Aids for Scientific Research from the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (15H04551 to O.A.), and the Ministry of Health, Labour, and Welfare (H27-food-general-009 to O.A.), Japan.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Graduate School of Fisheries and Environmental Sciences, Nagasaki University, 1-14 Bunkyo-machi, Nagasaki, 852-8521, Japan

    Wei Gao, Yoko Kanahara, Chisato Urata, Tomohiro Takatani & Osamu Arakawa

  2. Department of Food Science and Technology, National Fisheries University, Japan Fisheries Research and Education Agency, 2-7-1 Nagatahonmachi, Shimonoseki, Yamaguchi, 759-6595, Japan

    Ryohei Tatsuno

  3. Institute for East China Sea Research, Organization for Marine Science and Technology, Nagasaki University, 1551-7 Taira-machi, Nagasaki, 851-2213, Japan

    Kiyoshi Soyano & Gregory N. Nishihara

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  1. Wei Gao
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  2. Yoko Kanahara
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Correspondence to Osamu Arakawa.

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Gao, W., Kanahara, Y., Tatsuno, R. et al. Maturation-associated changes in internal distribution and intra-ovarian microdistribution of tetrodotoxin in the pufferfish Takifugu pardalis. Fish Sci 84, 723–732 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12562-018-1209-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12562-018-1209-2

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