Tolerance to, and metabolism of, fluoroacetate in the Emu

Twigg, L.E., King, D.R., Davis, H.M., Saunders, D.A. and Mead, R.J. (1988) Tolerance to, and metabolism of, fluoroacetate in the Emu. Wildlife Research, 15 (3). pp. 239-247.

Abstract

Compared with most other birds, the emu, Dromaius novaehollandiae Vieillot, has unusually high tolerance to fluoroacetate (1080). The LD5o for emus with evolutionary exposure to fluoroacetate- bearing vegetation in the south-west of Western Australia was 102 mg of 1080 per kilogram. This tolerance appears to result from: the substantial capacity of emus to detoxify fluoroacetate by defluorination; the limited conversion of fluoroacetate into fluorocitrate by emus; and/or their possession of an aconitate hydratase which is relatively insensitive to fluorocitrate.

Publication Type:	Journal Article
Murdoch Affiliation:	School of Environmental and Life Sciences
Publisher:	CSIRO Publishing
Copyright:	© 1988, CSIRO.
URI:	http://researchrepository.murdoch.edu.au/id/eprint/31601

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