Find out how the Golden Gate ATR has been applied to the study of Crested Rat hair to yield fundamental knowledge about the chemical coatings of the hair.
Plant toxins are used by some invertebrates as a defence against predation. However, this behaviour is not often observed in a mammal [1]. The Crested Rat, Lophiomys Imhausi, applies a potent toxin to the fur along its flanks, which it obtains from the poisonous shrub Acokanthera Schimperi.
The poison itself, a cardenolide called ouabain, [2] appears not to affect the rat but causes pain and cardiac dysrhythmia to most vertebrates, with even a small amount capable of killing an elephant. However, in the hands of a skilled medic, this cardiac glycoside is a known treatment for congestive heart failure [3].
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