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Review article2019Peer reviewedOpen access

The Toxins of Nemertean Worms

Goransson, Ulf; Jacobsson, Erik; Strand, Malin; Andersson, Hakan S.

Abstract

Most ribbon worms (phylum: Nemertea) are found in marine environments, where they act as predators and scavengers. They are characterized by an eversible proboscis that is used to hunt for prey and thick mucus covering their skin. Both proboscis and epidermal mucus mediate toxicity to predators and preys. Research into the chemical nature of the substances that render toxicity has not been extensive, but it has nevertheless led to the identification of several compounds of potential medicinal use or for application in biotechnology. This review provides a complete account of the current status of research into nemertean toxins.

Keywords

Anabaseine; cytotoxin; DMXBA; nemertea; nemertide; parborlysin; ribbon worm; tetrodotoxin

Published in

Toxins
2019, Volume: 11, number: 2, article number: 120Publisher: MDPI

    UKÄ Subject classification

    Food Science

    Publication identifier

    DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/toxins11020120

    Permanent link to this page (URI)

    https://res.slu.se/id/publ/99245