NOAA and Research Partners Make Critical Discovery Related to Harmful Toxins in Shellfish Results of a new study by NOAA and other research partners have revealed the molecular basis for resistance and accumulation of paralytic shellfish toxins (PSTs) in softshell clams. Paralytic shellfish poisoning is caused by algae that naturally produce PSTs. Shellfish feed on these toxic algae and can accumulate concentrations of toxins unsafe for human consumption. This collaborative study, supported by grants from NOAA’s Ecology and Oceanography of Harmful Algal Blooms (ECOHAB) program and from the National Institutes of Health, has important implications for management and monitoring of human health impacts and coastal shellfisheries, as well as our understanding of harmful algae worldwide. The findings of this study, A Molecular Basis for Differential Susceptibility and Accumulation of Paralytic Shellfish Poisoning Toxins in Commercial Bivalves, have been published in Nature magazine.
NOAA and Research Partners Make Critical Discovery Related to Harmful Toxins in Shellfish
Results of a new study by NOAA and other research partners have revealed the molecular basis for resistance and accumulation of paralytic shellfish toxins (PSTs) in softshell clams. Paralytic shellfish poisoning is caused by algae that naturally produce PSTs. Shellfish feed on these toxic algae and can accumulate concentrations of toxins unsafe for human consumption.
This collaborative study, supported by grants from NOAA’s Ecology and Oceanography of Harmful Algal Blooms (ECOHAB) program and from the National Institutes of Health, has important implications for management and monitoring of human health impacts and coastal shellfisheries, as well as our understanding of harmful algae worldwide. The findings of this study, A Molecular Basis for Differential Susceptibility and Accumulation of Paralytic Shellfish Poisoning Toxins in Commercial Bivalves, have been published in Nature magazine.
Click here to read the news release, which recognizes NOAA’s partners in this important research.