Tectus niloticus (Tegulidae, Gastropod) as a Novel Vector of Ciguatera Poisoning: Detection of Pacific Ciguatoxins in Toxic Samples from Nuku Hiva Island (French Polynesia)

• Published in: Toxins 2018-01, Vol.10 (1), p.2-22
• Main Authors: Darius, Hélène Taiana, Roué, Mélanie, Sibat, Manoella, Viallon, Jérôme, Gatti, Clémence Mahana Iti, Vandersea, Mark W, Tester, Patricia A, Litaker, R Wayne, Amzil, Zouher, Hess, Philipp, Chinain, Mireille
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Animals; Archipelagoes; CBA-N2a; Cell Line, Tumor; Cell Survival - drug effects; Ciguatera; Ciguatera Poisoning; ciguatoxins; Ciguatoxins - analysis; Ciguatoxins - toxicity; Consumption; Dinoflagellates; Dinoflagellida; Environmental Monitoring; Field tests; Fish; Food Contamination - analysis; Foodborne diseases; Gambierdiscus; Gambierdiscus polynesiensis; Gastropoda - chemistry; gastropods; Invertebrates; LC-MS/MS; Life Sciences; Liquid chromatography; Marine fish; Marine invertebrates; Marine pollution; Mass spectrometry; Mass spectroscopy; Mice; Neuroblastoma; Outbreaks; Poisoning; Polynesia; qPCR assays; Seafood; Tectus niloticus; Toxicity; Toxins
• ISSN: 2072-6651; 2072-6651
• DOI: 10.3390/toxins10010002

Ciguatera fish poisoning (CFP) is a foodborne disease caused by the consumption of seafood (fish and marine invertebrates) contaminated with ciguatoxins (CTXs) produced by dinoflagellates in the genus . The report of a CFP-like mass-poisoning outbreak following the consumption of (Tegulidae, Gastropod) from Anaho Bay on Nuku Hiva Island (Marquesas archipelago, French Polynesia) prompted field investigations to assess the presence of CTXs in . Samples were collected from Anaho Bay, 1, 6 and 28 months after this poisoning outbreak, as well as in Taiohae and Taipivai bays. Toxicity analysis using the neuroblastoma cell-based assay (CBA-N2a) detected the presence of CTXs only in Anaho Bay samples. This is consistent with qPCR results on window screen samples indicating the presence of communities dominated by the species in Anaho Bay. Liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) analyses revealed that P-CTX-3B was the major congener, followed by P-CTX-3C, P-CTX-4A and P-CTX-4B in toxic samples. Between July 2014 and November 2016, toxin content in progressively decreased, but was consistently above the safety limit recommended for human consumption. This study confirms for the first time as a novel vector of CFP in French Polynesia.