Domoic acid biosynthesis in the red alga Chondria armata suggests a complex evolutionary history for toxin production [Environmental Sciences]

Domoic acid (DA), the causative agent of amnesic shellfish poisoning, is produced by select organisms within two distantly related algal clades: planktonic diatoms and red macroalgae. The biosynthetic pathway to isodomoic acid A was recently solved in the harmful algal bloom–forming diatom Pseudonitzschia multiseries, establishing the genetic basis for the...
Source: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences - Category: Science Authors: Tags: Environmental Sciences Biological Sciences Source Type: research