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Isolation and characterization of a Bacillus species capable of producing tetrodotoxin from the puffer fish Fugu obscurus

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Abstract

We obtained puffer fish Fugu obscurus from Wudi, China and analyzed the level of tetrodotoxin (TTX) toxictiy by mouse bioassay. The ovary showed the highest potency (125 MU/g), followed by the liver, intestine, and skin. A TTX-producing strain, namely, W-3, was isolated from the ovary of puffer fish F. obscurus. After culturing at 28 °C for 48 h, toxins were extracted from the liquid medium and analyzed by mouse bioassay, high-performance liquid chromatography, and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. The results showed that strain W-3 produced TTX and related compounds. Physiological and biochemical characterization and 16S rRNA analysis indicated that this strain represents a novel species within the Bacillus genus; we named this strain as Bacillus sp. W-3. Our results suggested that marine bacteria play a role in the production of TTX in puffer fish F. obscurus.

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Acknowledgments

This work was financially supported by Shandong Environmental Protective Project (No. 2006063) and The Doctoral Fund of Binzhou University (No.2008Y03).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Life Sciences, Binzhou University, 391, Huanghe Road 5, 256600, Binzhou, People’s Republic of China

    Jun Wang & Yanhui Fan

  2. Shandong Key Laboratory of Eco-Environmental Science for Yellow River Delta, 256600, Binzhou, People’s Republic of China

    Jun Wang & Yanhui Fan

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  1. Jun Wang
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  2. Yanhui Fan
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Correspondence to Jun Wang.

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Wang, J., Fan, Y. Isolation and characterization of a Bacillus species capable of producing tetrodotoxin from the puffer fish Fugu obscurus . World J Microbiol Biotechnol 26, 1755–1760 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11274-010-0354-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11274-010-0354-2

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