Japanese Eel

The Japanese Eel is a species of Eel found in parts of East and South East Asia. It spawns in the sea, but lives part of its life in freshwater. The blood of the Japanese Eel contains a protein toxin that causes harm to mammals when ingested. Temperatures of 136-158 F (58-70C) destroy the toxin, so no special procedure is required when preparing it as foodstuff. The Japanese Eel can produce the protein UnaG, which makes it quite unique. UnaG can be used to fluorescently label cells and tag proteins.