PARALYTIC SHELLFISH POISONING: NEW METHODS FOR ASSAY AND DEP

PARALYTIC SHELLFISH POISONING (PSP) IS A GROWING PUBLIC HEALTH PROBLEM. THE PRESENCE OF TOXINS IN SHELLFISH IS RATHER CRUDELY MEASURED BY INJECTING SHELLFISH EXTRACTS INTO MICE, AND RECORDING THE TIME THAT ELAPSES BETWEEN INJECTION AND DEATH. WE PROPOSE TO DEVELOP AN EASILY USED ASSAY TO DETERMINE THE PRESENCE OF TOXINS IN SHELLFISH AND USE BIOCHEMICAL AND PHYSIOLOGICAL APPROACHES IN DEVISING METHODS FOR SHELLFISH DETOXIFICATION. SHELLFISH THAT ARE PRESENTLY BEING GROWN EXPERIMENTALLY IN THE SEA BY NEUSHUL MARICULTURE INCORPORATED (NMI) ACCUMULATE TOXIN, BUT THE LEVEL OF TOXICITY PRODUCED IS NOT UNIFORM. THEREFORE, TOXIC DINOFLAGELLATES WILL BE CULTURED IN THE LABORATORY, AND FED TO SHELLFISH IN CONTROLLED CONCENTRATIONS TO PRODUCE UNIFORMLY TOXIC SHELLFISH. THE TOXIN LEVELS IN THESE SHELLFISH WILL BE MEASURED USING THE STANDARD MOUSE TEST AND THE EFFECT OF THE TOXIN ON TISSUE CULTURES WILL ALSO BE MEASURED. WE WILL ALSO TEST SOLUTION FLUOROMETRIC TECHNIQUES AS ASSAY METHODS. THE PROPOSED RESEARCH PROJECT WOULD MEET SOME OF THE OBJECTIVES OF THE NATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS CONCERNED WITH THE EFFECTS OF PARALYTIC SHELLFISH POISONING INCLUDING THE SHELLFISH SANITATION BRANCH OF THE FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION, THE NATIONAL CENTER FOR TOXICOLOGICAL RESEARCH OF THE FDA, AND THE NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH SCIENCES.