Tetrodotoxin, frequently abbreviated as TTX, is a potent neurotoxin.
Tetrodotoxin has been isolated from widely differing animal species, including western newts of the genus Taricha (where it was formerly termed "tarichatoxin"), pufferfish, toads of the genus Atelopus, several species of blue-ringed octopuses of the genus Hapalochlaena (where it was called "maculotoxin"), several sea stars, certain angelfish, a polyclad flatworm, several species of Chaetognatha (arrow worms), several nemerteans (ribbonworms) and several species of xanthid crabs. The toxin is variously used as a defensive biotoxin to ward off predation, or as both a defensive and predatory venom. It is actually produced by certain symbiotic bacteria, such as Pseudoalteromonas tetraodonis, certain species of Pseudomonas and Vibrio, as well as some others that reside within these animals.
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Keywords: atoms, biochemistry, blue-ringed, bonded, bonds, chemical, defense, isomers, mechanism, molecule, neurotoxin, octopus, octopuses, polarity, pufferfish, tetraodontiformes, tetrodotoxin, toads, toxin, ttx
