地中海産クラゲの毒物：スキフォメドゥーゼについてのレビュー

Mediterranean jellyfish venoms: a review on scyphomedusae.

• Gian Luigi Mariottini
• Luigi Pane

抄録

天然毒素の生産は興味深い側面であり、防御・防御の目的で天然毒素を使用する多くの海洋種の生理と生態を特徴づけている。彼らの毒は特殊な構造物であるネマトシストに含まれており、機械的または化学的な刺激の後、獲物や攻撃者に毒を注入します。猛毒を持つクラゲやイソギンチャクが多く生息する地域、例えば温帯・熱帯海域や太平洋沿岸では、刺されたクラゲやイソギンチャクは人間にとって深刻な健康問題となっており、主にキュボメデューサによる致死例を含む重症化例が報告されています。一方、地中海地域では、クラゲ刺傷は公衆衛生に影響を与え、生態系や観光、海水浴、漁業などの人間活動に影響を与えるため、生態学的、経済学的にも重要な問題であるにもかかわらず、問題は非常に小さい。本論文では、地中海産クラゲの発生と刺すことに関連した様々な側面とその毒の活性についての知識をレビューする。

The production of natural toxins is an interesting aspect, which characterizes the physiology and the ecology of a number of marine species that use them for defence/offence purposes. Cnidarians are of particular concern from this point of view; their venoms are contained in specialized structures--the nematocysts--which, after mechanical or chemical stimulation, inject the venom in the prey or in the attacker. Cnidarian stinging is a serious health problem for humans in the zones where extremely venomous jellyfish or anemones are common, such as in temperate and tropical oceanic waters and particularly along several Pacific coasts, and severe cases of envenomation, including also lethal cases mainly induced by cubomedusae, were reported. On the contrary, in the Mediterranean region the problem of jellyfish stings is quite modest, even though they can have anyhow an impact on public health and be of importance from the ecological and economic point of view owing to the implications on ecosystems and on some human activities such as tourism, bathing and fishing. This paper reviews the knowledge about the various aspects related to the occurrence and the stinging of the Mediterranean scyphozoan jellyfish as well as the activity of their venoms.