Takeshi Yasumoto, Doctor Honoris Causa of the University of Vigo

Prof. Yasumoto received this award in recognition of his pioneering and prolific scientific research in the field of marine phycotoxins. In his speech, Yasumoto evoked his holidays on a small island of Okinawa, and his fascination for the exuberant underwater life of the coral reefs, and the local fishermen tales. The story of a potent and mysterious poison in pufferfish which caused a peculiar syndrome in those who ate them stirred his curiosity and was his driving force later on when he became a Ph D student at Tokyo University. With the support of the World Health Organization and the Institute of Medical Research in French Polynesia, and after 10 years of effort, the young Yasumoto collected 4 tons of contaminated fish, from which he managed to obtain 124 kg of viscera which in turn yielded 0.35 mg of the mysterious toxin. The successful elucidation of the complex ladder-like structure of Ciguatoxin 1B followed. Soon afterwards came the discovery of the structure of an even more potent toxin, the Maitotoxin included in the Ciguatera toxin complex. A new syndrome that produced intense diarrhoea and caused big losses to the local industry became the new obsession of Yasumoto. It was a lucky accident that he was also a victim of this syndrome after eating contaminated mussels in 1976. Ignoring the health risks for himself, he demanded a new helping (cooked longer) of the same shellfish and had to conclude that the toxic agent was not a virus or a bacteria, but a thermo-stable toxin. The intoxication suffered in 1976 led him to buy 300 kg of affected mussels from which he extracted 14.6 kg of hepatopancreas that finally yielded 4.6 mg of a new toxin. Two years latter in 1978, a new toxin, Dinophysistoxin 1, related to the okadaic acid group, was described, and further the identification of Dinophysis fortii as the causative agent of DSP outbreaks.

Yasumoto showed signs of his Asiatic philosophy in his last sentence to the young students who filled the University amphitheatre: Life is full of miracles. May your problems of today become your happiness of tomorrow.