saxitoxin

American  

[sak-si-tok-sin] / ˌsæk sɪˈtɒk sɪn /

noun

1. a powerful neurotoxin, C 1 0 H 1 7 N 7 O 4 , produced by the dinoflagellate Gonyaulax catenella, the causative agent of red tide.

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Etymology

Origin of saxitoxin

1960–65; < New Latin Saxi ( domus ), a clam genus infected by the dinoflagellates (equivalent to Latin sax ( um ) stone + -i- -i- + domus house) + toxin

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

saxitoxin

They also observed that the gene linked to saxitoxin was less common in areas with elevated ammonium levels.

From Science Daily ● Dec. 2, 2025

With these sequences, he reconstructed a complete genome and then searched that genome for the genes involved in making saxitoxin.

From Science Daily ● Dec. 2, 2025

According to the researchers, they have monitored saxitoxin in the lake for nine years, but this span is too short to determine whether toxin levels will rise as the climate continues to warm.

From Science Daily ● Dec. 2, 2025

Probably the best solution was proposed last week by Murdoch Ritchie, a Yale pharmacology professor and an expert on saxitoxin.

From Time Magazine Archive

But the CIA held on to 10.9 grams of saxitoxin, a close chemical cousin of the fearsome fugu, along with eight milligrams of a toxin made from cobra venom.

From Time Magazine Archive

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