What poison, also called compound 1080, accumulates in many Gastrolobium species?

The poison, also called compound 1080, that accumulates in many Gastrolobium species is monofluoroacetate.

Gastrolobium is a group of Australian legumes widely known as poison peas or poison bushes. Many species accumulate fluoroacetate, commonly present as the sodium salt in commercial compound 1080. The stored answer identifies the toxin itself; “sodium fluoroacetate” is the more chemically precise name for the manufactured poison, while fluoroacetate or monofluoroacetate describes the active anion.

The toxin works as a metabolic trap. After ingestion, fluoroacetate is converted into fluorocitrate, which blocks aconitase in the citric-acid cycle. Cells then lose the ability to generate energy normally, with the heart and nervous system especially vulnerable. This explains why 1080 is lethal to many introduced mammals and why poisoning is not simply a conventional stomach irritant.

The chemistry has an unusual ecological dimension. Some Australian marsupials and other native animals evolved partial tolerance because their ancestors encountered fluoroacetate-bearing plants. The same natural compound later became a vertebrate pest-control poison, particularly in Australia and New Zealand.