Article
Evidence that toxin resistance in poison birds and frogs is not rooted in sodium channel mutations and may rely on "toxin sponge" proteins.
The Journal of general physiology - 6 Sept 2021
Abderemane-Ali Fayal, Rossen Nathan D, Kobiela Megan E, Craig Robert A, Garrison Catherine E, Chen Zhou, Colleran Claire M, O'Connell Lauren A, Du Bois J, Dumbacher John P, Minor Daniel L
Abstract excerpt
Many poisonous organisms carry small-molecule toxins that alter voltage-gated sodium channel (NaV) function. Among these, batrachotoxin (BTX) from Pitohui poison birds and Phyllobates poison frogs stands out because of its lethality and unusual effects on NaV function. How these toxin-bearing organisms avoid autointoxication remains poorly understood. In poison frogs, a NaV DIVS6 pore-forming helix N-to-T...
Topics
- Animals
- Batrachotoxins
- Birds
- Mutation
- Poisons
- Sodium Channels