The microbial biogenesis of aquatic biotoxins.

The biogenesis of small molecular nonprotein poisons has long been a mystery in the world of biotoxicology. The phylogenetic distribution, molecular structure, evidence of biogenesis, and possible mechanisms involving some of these poisons, such as saxitoxin, tetrodotoxin, ciguatoxin, palytoxin, maitotoxin, and brevitoxin, are briefly discussed.