![]() Those yeast cells were unaffected but when given to yeast cells that researchers genetically modified to encode a sheep’s sodium potassium pump, all the cells died. They exposed yeast cells to palytoxin because yeast cells don’t have a sodium potassium pump. Initially there was some skepticism regarding this mechanism of action but it was confirmed in 1995 in a pretty clever study. It is why the symptoms of palytoxin poisoning are seemingly all-inclusive. If you don’t remember what this is from high school biology, the sodium potassium pump is REALLY important to ion movement in and out of the cell and affects all sorts of biological processes so any interruption of that royally screws things up. Palytoxin binds to the sodium potassium pump on the membrane of cells. It wasn’t until the 1990’s that the mechanism of action was identified. In 1961 researchers tracked down the fabled pool in Maui and found colonies of Palythoa toxica. There is a legend of a sacred seaweed that grew in a special pool that when applied to a warrior’s spear would bring sure death to his enemies. The scientific community has been aware of palytoxin since the 1960’s but it has been used as a means of biological warfare by Polynesian cultures for much longer. I’ll touch on this again when we discuss pests, because as lethal as palytoxin is, there is no shortage of organisms that are more than happy to consume them with no ill effects. It can even be found in other species up the food chain such as crabs and fish through biomagnification. In the wild, palytoxin shows up in organisms that don’t actively produce it such as sponges, mussels, and starfish but live in close proximity to palythoa. I don’t know if those zoas produce it themselves or acquire it from neighboring Palythoa. Palytoxin is associated more with Palythoa than Zoanthus, but it is possible for zoas to have it. Some can contain a compound called palytoxin that is a very dangerous poison. On the far ends of the spectrum the two are easy to differentiate but once you get into large polyp Zoanthus variants and smaller polyp Palythoa variants, the naming convention breaks down at the hobbyist level.īefore we get into the care tips for zoas, I need to address the potential toxicity of these corals. There are new classification insights as more genetic testing is being done, but for the purposes of this hobby-focused website, we've chosen to arbitrarily lump larger polyp individuals into Palythoa and smaller polyp specimens into Zoanthus.Īs a practical matter, there is some degree of fogginess you will encounter in this industry whether something is called a Zoanthus or a Palythoa because there is a wide range of physical variation within the genus. What was once 300 identified species has been whittled down to around 50-60 in the past several years depending on the criteria used to differentiate the different morphs. I expect quite a lot of reclassification to occur in this space. The genes themselves don’t change but the how the organism reads the genetic code in response to the environment does so you could see two very different traits in corals originate from an identical genetic sequence. Genetic research is further complicated by the effect the environment has on the expression of the genetic code. Over 90% of the coral’s genome is identical so a lot of current research is delving into that. There is a LOT of genetic consistency so it is a chore to find small segments of DNA that are actually different enough to base a scientific classification on. ![]() It is not nearly as straight forward as it may seem. There is quite a lot of active research on Zoanthid taxonomy and the cutting edge is DNA classification. You may have also heard zoanthus referred to as zoanthids which is correct, but if you want to be a stickler for details, the term zoanthids refers to all the corals in the order while zoanthus is specific to the genus. Salinity / Specific Gravity: 1.023 - 1.Zoanthus are a genus of corals within the order Zoantharia, an order it shares with Palythoa and Parazoanthus. This are the water paramaters in cultivating Eagle Eye Zoas: While they look similar with sea anemones, Zoanthids are generally smaller with an oral disc measuring only from 1 to 2 centimeters in diameter.įor the Eagle Eye Zoas, they are predominantly colored orange with green tentacles and white violet mouth. ![]() Their appearance resembles like a cluster of miniature sea anemones that often creates a hard matting appearance. Zoanthids feature a hard exoskeleton and is considered one of the most durable inhabitants in a reef aquarium making them the perfect piece for newbie aquarist.
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