Discover the secret of the red tide

This result helps coastal fishermen to reduce the damage caused by red tide. Chemists at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have released an explanation of the mechanism of marine algae that causes periodic damage to molluscs and crustaceans.

Scientists have described the composition of deadly toxins of red tide. They discovered a method to synthesize a chemical from marine algae to prevent these toxins.

Understanding the mechanism of red tide can help scientists calculate models to prevent outbreaks, which are ecologically significant and reduce economic losses. For example, the New England (US) shellfish and mussel processing industry suffered millions of dollars in losses during the 2005 outbreak, the red tide killed 30 manatee along. Florida state coast in spring.

The discovery was made by Professor Timothy Jamison and graduate student Ivan Vilotijevic, opening a light to understand the mechanism of red tide generation of dinoflagellates (two-celled single-celled algae), as well as speeding up the attempts to generate Develop a capsule with a compound close to the red tide toxin.

Professor Tim Jamison (right) & graduate student Vilotijevic - co-author of discovering organizations within red tide can cause toxins in marine algae.They are holding models of molecules that in seawater they will transform into typical components of red tide toxins.(Photo: Donna Coveney, MIT, web.mit.edu).

Red tide is known under the blooms of seaweed blooms, attacks and hurts massively on crustaceans & mollusks such as crabs, shrimp, mussels, oysters, mussels . It is extremely dangerous for humans to eat these poisoned animals. The mechanism of dinoflagellates of algal blooms producing toxic red tides is still a mystery, but it could be a defense mechanism developed from changes in ocean currents such as heat changes. degree or overload state of the environment.

One of the basic toxins of red tide called brevetoxin - a polymeric compound that is difficult to synthesize, this toxin has the ability to paralyze the nervous system very strongly.

Twenty-two years ago, chemist Koji Nakanishi at Columbia University proposed a cycle whereby chemical reactions take place in a step-by-step manner, whereby dinoflagellates algae group produces brevetoxin next to other toxins in the wall. red tide part. However, chemists have failed to try to recreate the red tide in the laboratory following this cycle. Too many failures have made the Nakanishi hypothesis never proven true.

"A lot of people think that making step-by-step fusion is impossible," Jamison said. "Because the Nakanishi hypothesis offers a lot of complicated and complicated explanations for toxins, which leads to a lot of potential for judgment, but so far no evidence has been given."

Timothy Jamison and Ivan Vilotijevic worked together to provide the first evidence of the Nakanishi hypothesis. Their research will also help boost efforts to find new drugs, brevenal - a type of inhibitor against the effects of brevetoxin, also produced in red tide, promising great potential in the way it works. cystic treatment (CF - cystic fibrosis).

"Now that we can prepare complex molecules quickly, we hope to easily find protection against red tide and even more effective cyst treatment. " , Jamison said.

Until now, the team has only synthesized several milligrams of red tidal toxins and related compounds using a non-stratified method, which is the fruitful result of many people.

The synthesis process depends on two key factors - reaction to priming & underwater.

A lot of toxins in red tide include long chain links of 6 continuous loop components. However, the initial component of the toxin chain is a cyclic alcohol molecule directed to the remaining 5 components . To synthesize red tidal toxins, the researchers attached a " sample " of six component rings to the -o- chain of the alcohol molecule. It is a simple but very effective method to initiate reactions that lead the chain reaction to produce red tide toxins.

"The trick lies in creating a proper push and everything will go smoothly," Jamison said.

The researchers speculated that in dinoflagellates, the initial reaction was triggered by an enzyme instead of an "provided" sample .

The key to the success of this synthetic method lies in the reaction layout in the water . Water is often a weak solvent for organic reactions, so most laboratory reactions are usually carried out in organic solvents. However, when Viltijevic used water as a solvent to react to the notion that the reaction would occur faster & more selectively.

Jamison said, although that may be a coincidence when the chain of reaction occurs better in the country. But in fact dinoflagellates are a living entity of the sea so that water can be a component directly related to the process of producing toxins or playing an important role.

Seaweed blooms are impressive at Leigh, near Cape Rodney, New Zealand.(Photo: M. Godfrey, NIWA).

According to the results, researchers believe that organic chemists should regularly test reactions in water as well as organic solvents.

The research was funded by the National Institute of Medical Sciences, Merck Research Laboratory, Boehringer Ingelheim, and MIT.

"It is a valuable step forward in the next complex series of work , " said John Schwab, managing director of organic chemistry research at the National Institute of Medical Sciences. "That not only allows chemists to synthesize important molecular mixtures more easily, but also provides a key to understanding how nature creates the same molecular form."

Nam Hy Hoang Phong (Translated by Anne Trafton, MIT News)