#and i had always assumed invertebrates didn't have nervous systems and thats why they didnt die from the accumulation of saxitoxin

[championsofmyheart]

learned yesterday that clams have hearts. and nervous systems. im in third year biology.

#maybe they should make invertebrate anatomy a requirement because that was the most embarassing thing ever. how did i not know that #anyways in case anyone was wondering why i realized my understanding of invertebrate nervous systems was incorrect #shellfish are filter feeders and eat algae and one of those algae is dinoflagellates which make a nerve toxin called saxitoxin #and saxitoxin blocks the sodium ion channels in your nerves from working and thats how paralytic shellfish poisoning kills u #and i had always assumed invertebrates didn't have nervous systems and thats why they didnt die from the accumulation of saxitoxin #but turns out i was wrong and they do have nervous systems #and then i went insane trying to uerstand why shellfish were fine despite being filled with nerve toxin as organisms with nervous systems #anyways theres a single amino acid mutation in the sodium ion channel protein #and it decreases their sodium ion channel affinity to saxitoxin so it can't bind and stop their nerves from working so theyre fine #but we don't have that mutation so it kills us when we eat shellfish that have this toxin accumulated in them. love and light #fuckery #studying for this protist final is driving me insane